Free Proposed Jury Instructions - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:04-cr-00103-REB-MEH

Document 1097-2

Filed 03/30/2007

Page 1 of 2

INSTRUCTION NO. SMITH 4

Presumption of Innocence, Burden of Proof, and Reasonable Doubt

I instruct you that you must presume all of the defendants to be innocent of the crimes charged. Thus the defendants, although accused of crimes in the indictment, begins the trial with a "clean slate"--with no evidence against them. The indictment, as you already know, is not evidence of any kind. The defendants are, of course, not on trial for any act or crime not contained in the indictment. The law permits nothing but legal evidence presented before the jury in court to be considered in support of any charge against the defendants. The presumption of innocence alone, therefore, is sufficient to acquit the defendants. The burden is always upon the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This burden never shifts to a defendant for the law never imposes upon a defendant in a criminal case the burden or duty of calling any witnesses or producing any evidence. The defendant is not even obligated to produce any evidence by crossexamining the witnesses for the government. It is not required that the government prove guilt beyond all possible doubt. The test is one of reasonable doubt. A reasonable doubt is a doubt based upon reason and common sense--the kind of doubt that would make a reasonable person hesitate to act. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt must, therefore, be proof of such a convincing character that a reasonable person would not hesitate to rely and act upon it in the most important of his or her own affairs.

Case 1:04-cr-00103-REB-MEH

Document 1097-2

Filed 03/30/2007

Page 2 of 2

Unless the government proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that defendants have committed each and every element of each offense charged in the indictment, you must find defendants not guilty of that offense. If the jury views the evidence in the case as reasonably permitting either of two conclusions--one of innocence, the other of guilt--the jury must, of course, adopt the conclusion of innocence.

O'Malley, Grenig & Lee, Federal Jury Practice & Instructions, § 12.10 (5th ed. 2000)