Fifth Amendment - upholding the constitutional merit of misleading reasonable doubt jury instructions.(Supreme Court Review)(Case Note)

From: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology | Date: March 22, 1995| Author: Kenney, Shelagh | Copyright information

The U.S. Supreme Court in the consolidated cases of Victor v. Nebraska and Sandoval v. California held incorrectly that the jury instructions adequately explained the concept of reasonable doubt, even while admitting that the instructions were not completely clear. The decision represents an unwarranted narrowing of the 1990 decision in Cage v. Louisiana. The court relied on cases from the 18th and 19th centuries to establish the instructions' constitutionality, instead of considering the way...

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