VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 37.100
Malicious Wounding and Lesser Included Offenses—Combined Instruction
The defendant is charged with the crime of malicious wounding. The Commonwealth must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following elements of that crime:
(1) That the defendant [shot, stabbed, cut, or wounded; caused bodily injury by any means to] (name of
person); and
(2) That such [shooting, stabbing, cutting, or wounding; bodily injury] was with intent to kill or
permanently maim, disfigure, or disable (name of person); and
(3) That the act was done with malice.
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the above elements of the crime as charged, then you shall find the defendant guilty of
malicious wounding [but you shall not fix the punishment until your verdict has been returned and
further evidence has been heard by you].
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the first two elements of the crime as charged but that the act was done unlawfully and not
maliciously, then you shall find the defendant guilty of unlawful wounding [but you shall not fix the
punishment until your verdict has been returned and further evidence has been heard by you].
If you find that the Commonwealth has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt either
malicious wounding or unlawful wounding but you do find beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) That the defendant willfully touched (name of person) without legal excuse or justification; and
(2) That the touching was done in an angry, rude, insulting, or vengeful manner,
then you shall find the defendant guilty of assault and battery [but you shall not fix the
punishment until your verdict has been returned and further evidence has been heard by you].
If you find that the Commonwealth has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the
above crimes, then you shall find the defendant not guilty.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Criminal, Release 26, October 2025. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- crim-2025-10-01
- Content hash
2b7e5893c0081a9effa2399bbc3ca7490d49712d3d9463595df6308f715961e7
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