Prosecution’s Burden of Persuasion (the Winship doctrine) – Pursuant to the due process clause, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent and, to enforce this presumption, the Supreme Court held in In re Winship [397 U.S. 358 (1970)] that the prosecution must persuade the fact-finder beyond a reasonable doubt of "every fact necessary to constitute the crime charged." This rule has come to be known as "the Winship doctrine."
If the prosecution fails to meet its burden of persuasion, the defendant must be acquitted. Procedurally, the acquittal may occur in either of two ways. First, after the prosecution completes its presentation of evidence or immediately before the case is due to be submitted to the jury, upon motion of the defendant, the trial court must direct a verdict of acquittal if the evidence, viewed in the manner most favorable to the prosecution, can support no reasonable verdict other than acquittal. Alternatively, if the judge believes that reasonable minds can differ and, therefore, permits the case to go to the jury, the jury must acquit if it possesses a reasonable doubt regarding one or more elements of the offense charged.