VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 7.400
Burning Personal Property
The defendant is charged with the crime of arson. The Commonwealth must prove beyond a
reasonable doubt each of the following elements of that crime:
(1) That the defendant [set fire to; burned; destroyed by an explosive device or substance; caused to
be burned; caused to be destroyed by an explosive device or substance; aided, counseled or procured
the burning of; aided, counseled or procured the destroying by an explosive device or substance of]
[(identify item(s) of personal property); standing grain; (name other crop)]; and
(2) That the defendant acted [with malice; with intent to defraud an insurance company; with intent to
defraud (name other person)]; and
(3) That the value of the [(identify item(s) of personal property); standing grain; (name of other crop)]
was $1,000 or more.
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the above elements of the crime, then you shall find the defendant guilty of the felony of
arson of personal property [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
the first two elements of the crime, but has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the value
of the thing [set fire to; burned; destroyed] was $1,000 or more, then if you find that the thing [set
fire to; burned; destroyed] was of some value (there need be no proof of a minimum or specific
value), you shall find the defendant guilty of the misdemeanor of arson of personal property [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 or
both of the first two elements of the crime or has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that
the thing [set fire to; burned; destroyed] was of some value, 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
872aa3f3bc538fcf9e90a9b7829ba81c48f0ccd1df2217e03a9257efd4f65869
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