Tag Archives: Presumption of Innocence


Defense Has No Burden to Prove Any Specific Facts
July 13th, 2016

CC 100, paragraph 3, sentence 4, provides as follows: “Because (he/she/they) (is/are) presumed innocent, the defendant[s] (does/do) not have to prove that (he/she/they) (is/are) not guilty.” CC 100 is technically correct as far as it goes. (See People v. Ibarra (2007) 156 CA4th 1174, 1179.) However, it only discusses the presumption of innocence in the […]


Tags: , , , , ,


Rejection or Disbelief of Alibi or Third Party Guilt Evidence
February 23rd, 2015

This post [0003 Centeno] discusses the problem of juror confusion regarding whether rejection or disbelief of defense evidence can supply proof that is missing from the prosecution’s evidence. This risk is particularly high with defenses such as alibi and third party guilt. The greatest danger of diluting the burden of proof in such cases is […]


Tags: , , , , , , , , ,


Use of Diagram or Visual Aid to Explain Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
February 13th, 2015

In People v. Centeno (2014) 60 Cal. 4th 659, 662 the prosecutor used a diagram showing the boundaries of California and urged the jury to convict based on a “reasonable” view of the evidence. In addressing this issue the CSC discussed several related cases:   The case law is replete with innovative but ill-fated attempts […]


Tags: , , , , , , , , ,