VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 37.500
Doubt as to Grade of Offense
If you have a reasonable doubt as to the grade of the offense, then you must resolve that doubt
in favor of the defendant and find him guilty of the lesser offense. For example, if you have a
reasonable doubt as to whether he is guilty of aggravated malicious wounding or malicious
wounding, you shall find him guilty of malicious wounding; if you have a reasonable doubt as to
whether he is guilty of malicious wounding or unlawful wounding, you shall find him guilty of
unlawful wounding; if you have a reasonable doubt as to whether he is guilty of unlawful wounding
or assault and battery, you shall find him guilty of assault and battery; if you have a reasonable
doubt as to whether he is guilty at all, you shall find him 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
dc521af69e972e45174b307e7d8217c76c7331a86ed26df1e8eb6945b52f9d58
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