DENVER — Colorado's prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys were caught off guard on Friday by a small judicial committee's quiet change to the longstanding definition of "beyond a reasonable doubt" in the template instructions for jury trials.
While prosecutors appeared cautiously supportive of the rewrite, defense lawyers condemned the sudden move.
The Model Criminal Jury Instructions Committee, composed entirely of judges, has now recommended that jurors be told that if they are "firmly convinced of the defendant's guilt, then the prosecution has proven the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt."
The prosecution has not proven guilt, the new instructions read, "if you think there is a real possibility that the defendant is not guilty."
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