All Facts and Evidence Need to Be Shown to Prove Anything
Video Transcribed: Hi, my name is Stuart Ericson. I am a lawyer in Wagoner County. Today, we’re going to talk about what does the state or the district attorney’s office have to prove in a criminal case?
That’s a good question. The burden is on the state, the one that is prosecuting the case. They have to prove it. Of course, in America, it has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. That is the burden of criminal cases. To prove something beyond a reasonable doubt, you have to know what there is you have to prove. Every criminal offense in Oklahoma has certain elements and a good place for anybody to check out. Let’s say you’re charged with burglary, first-degree, or assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. On Oklahoma Supreme Court network.net, so oscn.net, you can go to the jury instruction section. It’s called the OUJI, that’s how we call it, Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions.
It lists all the elements of all the crimes in Oklahoma. That’s basically what a jury would get when they’re deciding, has the state met its burden? Have they proved this case beyond a reasonable doubt? Let’s use the example of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. I’ve printed that off. There it is right there. It’s OUJI, Criminal 4-12, assault battery or assault and battery with a dangerous weapon element. It says, let’s just give the example, “No person may be convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon unless the state has proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, each and every element of the crime.” In this crime, the elements are one, an assault or an assault and battery. Second, upon another person. Third, with a dangerous weapon. Fourth, without justifiable or excusable cause. In that case, it’s not self-defense. Fifth, with the intent to do bodily harm.
The burden is on the State of Oklahoma to prove each and every element of that before you can be found guilty. A jury presumably would listen to a whole jury trial, determine what all the facts are, and they would go through this, hopefully. Was there an assault and battery committed? They would have the definitions for that. They’d have to say yes or no. Now, if they said no right off the bat, that’s it. They have to find you not guilty. They have to find each element. Upon another person, yeah, that usually it is. Third, with a dangerous weapon. Now, that’s something that they’d have to prove. I’ve seen cases filed being telephone. But again, there are definitions of what a dangerous weapon is and it’s up to the jury to decide does it meet that.
If the jury says, “Nah, that is not a dangerous weapon,” then you’ll have to be found not guilty. That is the burden. Again, there are always defenses to things and we’ll talk about that and we have talked about that in other videos. But basically, if you’re charged with a crime and you want to know what elements they have to prove, that’s the best place to look, is oscn.net. Go to the jury instructions, look up the offense, and you can see what the elements are.
If you have questions about that, reach out to me, Stuart Ericson, a criminal defense attorney in Oklahoma, at wagonerlawyer.com.
