This second edition of the West Virginia Jury Instructions for Criminal Cases includes all the basic material of the first edition, with the addition of instruction to address driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, sexual offenses, certain common law defenses, and general charges to the jury.
Information in the general charge to the jury addresses presumption of innocence, reasonable doubt and burden of proof, and alibi. Jury instructions are presented by substantive offense and focus on elements of the offense that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a conviction. The offenses for which jury instructions are presented are under the general categories of crimes against person (homicide, robbery, extortion, assault, and abduction and kidnapping); crimes against property (burglary, breaking and entering, larceny, worthless checks, shoplifting, and arson); sexual offenses (sexual assault and sexual abuse in the first, second, and third degrees and sexual assault of a spouse); and driving under the influence. Jury instructions under various defenses address the defenses of accidental death, bona fide claim of right, duress or coercion, intoxication and drug use, entrapment, insanity, and self-defense.