Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan
what if a jury didn't follow the reasonable
doubt instructions, is that an appealable issue in the Michigan court of appeals?
3 Answers from Attorneys
I don't know how you prove that a jury did not follow the "reasonable doubt" jury instructions. Normally a jury verdict will go undisturbed.
What do you mean by "didn't follow the reasonable doubt instruction"? Do you mean that YOU (and the others who were on your side of that case) had / didn't have a reasonable doubt but that the jury saw things a different way? Isn't that just "opinion"? Jury verdicts acquitting a defendant (i.e., the jury HAD a reasonable doubt) are not appealable regardless of how overwhelming the evidence might have been (think "O.J. Simpson"). Jury verdicts convicting a defendant are very difficult to overturn on that issue alone if, based on all the evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a reasonable jury could have convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. Remember that the jury doesn't decide the case based on who called the most witnesses, and don't have to throw out a witness' entire testimony even if they are inaccurate (or even lie) about one point (it's not all-or-nothing). It's all about how much weight the jury gives to various pieces of evidence. Those kinds of decisions (which are never known to us outiside of the jury room anyway) are given great, great deference by appellate courts.
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