![]() ![]() Thus, the defense suffers from the jury's misconception of its role. If the jury misconceives its role, the prosecution benefits, since it is much easier for the prosecution to prove guilt than it is to prove not just guilt, but guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. An examination of pattern jury instructions in the individual State courts reveals the same generic type of incorrect and confusing instructions in most of the States. These instructions misstate the role of the jury to be that of determining guilt or innocence. These instructions misstate the role of a jury in a criminal trial that are hopelessly contradictory, inaccurate, and unclear. ![]() A widely used source of pattern instructions for Federal criminal trials, 'Federal Jury Practice and Instructions,' compiled by Devitt and Blackmar, contains instructions on the role of a jury in a criminal trial that are hopelessly contradictory, inaccurate, and unclear. 'Not guilty' is a legal finding by the jury that the prosecution has not met its burden of proof. While in lay usage the term 'not guilty' is often synonymous with 'innocent,' in American criminal jurisprudence they are not the same. Jury members must understand the legal definitions of the terms guilty, not guilty, and innocent, as well as beyond a reasonable doubt. ![]()
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