Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Definition
The criminal standard of proof in common-law systems. The prosecution must persuade the jury to this degree before a verdict of guilty can be returned. The US Supreme Court has held it is constitutionally required but has declined to define it further for jury use, a decision that research suggests increases juror confusion.
- Applies to
- Criminal standard of proof, common-law systems
- Requirement
- Persuade the jury before a guilty verdict
- US status
- Held constitutionally required by the Supreme Court
- Further definition
- Left undefined by the Court for jury use
Common questions
Why has the US Supreme Court declined to define the phrase further?+
The Court has held that attempting a precise definition risks confusing jurors more than leaving the phrase to its ordinary meaning, though this stance is itself contested by researchers.
What does research say about jurors' understanding of the phrase?+
Studies using mock juries have found that undefined instructions on the standard produce inconsistent interpretations among jurors, with some applying a lower threshold than the law intends.
Related terms
- Deliberate Indifference
- Also called 'willful blindness' or 'conscious avoidance' in some jurisdictions: the doctrine that a defendant cannot escape knowledge of a fact by...
- Juror Comprehension Research
- The empirical literature, primarily in psychology and linguistics, that measures how well mock or actual jurors understand legal instructions. Methods include post-instruction...
- Pattern Jury Instructions
- Standardised model instructions approved by a state or federal judicial council for use across all cases of a given type. They are...
- Preponderance of the Evidence
- The civil standard of proof, meaning more likely than not, sometimes glossed as 51 percent probability. Jurors often confuse it with reasonable...
- Specific Intent
- A mental state element requiring that the defendant not only performed the act but did so with the purpose of achieving a...