VT · jury_instructions
Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instructions CR07-156
DIMINISHED CAPACITY (mental condition)
(Def)_______________ is charged with (crime charged)_______________, which requires the State to prove that [he] [she] acted with the specific intent to (specific intent)_______________. If you decide that at the time of the offense [he] [she] was suffering from a mental condition which prevented [him] [her] from forming this intent, then [he] [she] is not guilty of this crime. The cause of the mental condition is not relevant.
You must consider all the evidence on this issue. If you have a reasonable doubt about whether (Def)_______________ was capable of forming the required intent, then you must give [him] [her] the benefit of that doubt and find [him] [her] not guilty of (crime charged)_______________. However, if you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that [he] [she] could form the required intent, and that [he] [she] actually did so, then this essential element has been met. In that case, you must consider whether the other essential elements of the offense have been proven.
History
Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instructions CR07-156 (01/20/16). Prepared by the Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instructions committee; published on vtjuryinstructions.org, sponsored by the Vermont Bar Association. The committee states that the instructions have not been approved by the Vermont Supreme Court.
Provenance
- Source
- vtjuryinstructions.org
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-25
- Content hash
11842d12cea6218c2098774a24519a399068a8d3d1d5db9ee07fdb1827494abe
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