proof beyond a reasonable doubt
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 397 U.S. 358 - In the Matter of Samuel Winship · 1970Most cited · 18,834 citing opinions
the Due Process Clause protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged
How often courts cite the cases defining “proof beyond a reasonable doubt”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” — 19,258 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1970–1972
the reasonable-doubt standard 'is a prime instrument for reducing the risk of convictions resting on factual error. The standard provides concrete substance for the presumption of innocence—that bedrock 'axiomatic and elementary' principle whose 'enforcement lies at the foundation of the administration of our criminal law' . . . the reasonable-doubt standard is indispensable, for it 'impresses on the trier of fact the necessity of reaching a subjective state of certitude of the facts in issue.