Ruffin v. State

ELDRIDGE, Judge.

In every criminal jury trial, the trial court is required to instruct the jury that the defendant is presumed innocent, that in order to convict the defendant of the charged crime the State must prove the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the jury has a duty to acquit in the absence of such proof. Merzbacher v. State, 346 Md. 391, 398, 697 A.2d 432, 436 (1997). The sole issue in this case is whether the trial court’s jury instruction on the presumption *357of innocence and proof beyond a reasonable doubt was erroneous because it deviated from the Maryland…