Opinion ID: 1215982
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: reasonable-doubt instructions

Text: Counsel for defendant in substance requested and the trial court gave to the jury at the end of the guilt phase an instruction which defined reasonable doubt as follows: Now, by reasonable doubt is meant a doubt that is based on reason and one which is reasonable in view of all the evidence. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is that degree of proof which satisfies the mind and convinces the understanding of those who are bound to act conscientiously upon it. A reasonable doubt is a doubt which reasonable men and women would entertain, and it must arise from the evidence or the lack of the evidence in this case. If after an impartial consideration and comparison of all the evidence in the case you can candidly say that you are not satisfied of the defendant's guilt, you have a reasonable doubt. But if after such impartial consideration and comparison of all the evidence you can truthfully say that you have an abiding conviction of the defendant's guilt such as you would be willing to act upon in the more weighty and important matters relating to your own affairs, you have no reasonable doubt. A reasonable doubt must be a real, substantial doubt and not one that is merely possible or imaginary. Defendant now argues that the foregoing instruction impermissibly shifted the burden of proof in the guilt phase and the burden of persuasion in the penalty phase to him. His logic is unpersuasive. The above language clearly instructed that in making a determination, each juror must reach an abiding conviction of guilt and that the State must produce proof which satisfies the mind and convinces the understanding. We do not agree that the language in question in any way alters the State's burden of proof or shifts it to defendant. Legal definitions of standards of proof still pose communication problems for judges and jurors, [105] but defendant has not come close to a showing of a denial of due process because of the language used at his trial.