Jackson v. Virginia
- Decided
- October 1, 1979
- Docket
- 78-5283
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 79,490 timesSuperseded by statute (verified)Possible negative treatment: superseded by statute, overruled on other grounds, abrogated on other grounds (1 of 41 verified; none is a verified overruling) · Rodriguez v. Bureau of Corrections
What later courts said
- holding that if any rational jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, verdict must be upheld — Wesley Chalmers v. Robert Mitchell, Superintendent, Eastern Correctional Facility (1996)
- holding that no defendant can be convicted criminally unless the government proves beyond a reasonable doubt every element of the offense — United States v. David Grigsby, Doris Grigsby (1997)
- holding that federal court reviewing state court conviction must determine whether sufficient evidence existed to justify conviction beyond a reasonable doubt — Al-Bihani v. Obama (2010)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*309] Mr. Justice Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.
The Constitution prohibits the criminal conviction of any person except upon proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In re Winship, 397 U. S. 358. The question in this case is what standard is to be applied in a federal habeas corpus proceeding when the claim is made that a person has been convicted in a state court upon insufficient evidence.
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979)Read the full opinion
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