Reasonable Doubt and Credibility - National Judicial Institute

Note: Specimen jury instructions serve as a template that trial judges must adapt to the particular circumstances of each trial, not simply read out in whole. They are not designed to be delivered "as-is." More information about the use of specimen instructions is found in the Preface and A Note to Users, which you can find here.

9.5 Reasonable Doubt and Credibility

(Last revised June 2012)

[1] I am going to speak to you for just a moment about reasonable doubt and credibility. Reasonable doubt applies to the issue of credibility. On any given point, you may believe a witness, disbelieve a witness, or not be able to decide. You need not fully believe or disbelieve one witness or a group of witnesses. If you have a reasonable doubt about (NOA)’s guilt arising from the credibility of the witnesses, then you must find him/her not guilty.