Hawaii Standard Criminal Jury Instructions
VOLUME I
3. INSTRUCTIONS AT END OF CASE
3.02 PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE; REASONABLE DOUBT (6/29/00)
You must presume the defendant is innocent of the charge against him/her. This presumption remains with the defendant throughout the trial of the case, unless and until the prosecution proves the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The presumption of innocence is not a mere slogan but an essential part of the law that is binding upon you. It places upon the prosecution the duty of proving every material element of the offense charged against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.
You must not find the defendant guilty upon mere suspicion or upon evidence which only shows that the defendant is probably guilty. What the law requires before the defendant can be found guilty is not suspicion, not probabilities, but proof of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
What is a reasonable doubt?
It is a doubt in your mind about the defendant’s guilt which arises from the evidence presented or from the lack of evidence and which is based upon reason and common sense.
Each of you must decide, individually, whether there is or is not such a doubt in your mind after careful and impartial consideration of the evidence.
Be mindful, however, that a doubt which has no basis in the evidence presented, or the lack of evidence, or reasonable inferences therefrom, or a doubt which is based upon imagination, suspicion or mere speculation or guesswork is not a reasonable doubt.
What is proof beyond a reasonable doubt?
If, after consideration of the evidence and the law, you have a reasonable doubt of the defendant’s guilt, then the prosecution has not proved the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and it is your duty to find the defendant not guilty.
If, after consideration of the evidence and the law, you do not have a reasonable doubt of the defendant’s guilt, then the prosecution has proved the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and it is your duty to find the defendant guilty.
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