Court Opinion

ID: 9492910
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:53:21.51074+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:33.204108
License: Public Domain

WILKINSON, Chief Judge,
concurring:
One picture can be worth a thousand words. And fewer words are sometimes better than many. So it is with “reasonable doubt.” The majesty of the term has always been its brevity. It is not at all a bad thing for a jury to be left to work through its meaning. With longer instructions, one cannot tell which part the ear will choose to hear or the mind to accentuate. And that can make all the difference.
The principal dissent’s proposed instruction further illustrates the point that different is not always better. Though accompanied by much verbal fanfare, all it does is substitute for “reasonable doubt” the equally capacious term “not firmly convinced.” ' This is to do nothing more than restate the traditional constitutional formulation with verbiage that carries uncertain connotations. Indeed, I can see either the prosecution or the defense thinking that this reformulation works to its detriment. From the standpoint of the prosecution, the “not firmly convinced” standard appears to require virtual certainty from jurors before they may vote to convict. From the standpoint of the defense, the “reasonable doubt” standard encourages the jury to adopt a reflective and deliberative state of mind, while the “not firmly convinced” standard may require only that the jury be sufficiently opinionated. The cure proposed by the dissent may thus be worse than the disease. The district court acted within its discretion in avoiding this danger.
I would affirm the judgment.
WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge,