In State v. Wentworth, 118 N.H. 832, 395 A.2d 858 (1978), the Supreme Court of New Hampshire prescribed a model charge, which is set out below, for use by trial judges in their instructions to the jury on the issue of reasonable doubt. The charge was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Tsoumas v. State of New Hampshire, 611 F.2d 412 (1980). In State v. Aubert, 120 N.H. 634, 421 A.2d 124 (1980), the New Hampshire Supreme Court, in reversing a conviction on the basis of an improper reasonable doubt charge, indicated that trial judges should not depart from the model charge set forth in State v. Wentworth.
BURDEN OF PROOF,
PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE, REASONABLE DOUBT
Under our constitutions, all defendants in criminal cases are presumed to