What is the burden of proof in a criminal appeal?

In Virginia, the burden of proof for a criminal appeal is the same as any criminal trial—the prosecution must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. This means that the prosecution must provide enough evidence to convince a jury beyond all reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. In an appeal, the defendant is challenging a verdict that has already been reached in the trial court. To do this, the defendant must prove that the trial court made a legal or procedural error that impacted the outcome of the trial; the burden of proof is on the defendant in an appeal. The standard of proof in an appeal is the “preponderance of evidence” which means that the defendant must only show that the likelihood of their argument is more likely to be true than not. This lower standard of proof makes it much easier for a defendant to win an appeal. If the defendant is able to prove that an error occurred, the court might order a new trial in order to reach a new verdict. However, if the defendant is unable to prove their argument, then the court will usually uphold the original verdict. Regardless of the outcome, it is important to remember that the burden of proof in a criminal appeal is always on the defendant—the prosecution does not have to prove anything in an appeal.

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