第19解

beyond a reasonable doubt

【英文】In light of the seriousness of the penalties for violating a criminal law，both the Constitution and statutory law—federal and state codes—impose strict sets of procedural rules to ensure that persons who are accused of criminal acts are tried fairly and convicted only if guilt has been established beyond a reasonable doubt.

【译文】因违反刑法，根据处罚之严重程度，宪法及联邦和各州制定法都规定了严格的程序原则，以确保被指控有犯罪行为的人得到公正的审判，并且仅在排除了合理怀疑之后确立了犯罪事实，才可做出有罪判决。

【解释】beyond a reasonable doubt意为“排除合理怀疑”。与民事诉讼中“优势证据”（preponderance of evidence）原则不同，刑事诉讼中确立的证据标准被称为“排除合理怀疑”，即陪审团只有在检方提出的证据能够排除所有合理的怀疑之后，才可以判定被告人有罪。

再如：

Criminal defendants are presumed innocent.The state must overcome this presumption of innocence by proving every element of the offense charged against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of all the jurors.〔译文：刑事被告人是被推定无罪的。如果要推翻这一无罪推定，国家必须证明被告人被控犯罪的每一构成要件都被排除合理怀疑，从而让所有陪审员满意。〕