Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

A more kinder looking Marcia Clark (former LA prosecutor), let's us in on a tactic that's often used by the defense which is that the defense tries to plant in the jurors' minds a "reason to doubt." Note the distinction between the standard "beyond a reasonable doubt" and a "reason to doubt," which in her own words is, "a more elastic almost illusive concept." More simply put, stretching the truth. If the jury is deliberating on a high profile case, their nerves might be so jittery due to the importance of their verdict, live national media coverage and so forth, that they mentally interchange "reason to doubt" with "reasonable doubt" and on cue acquit the defendant. Of course, "all this pales in importance with the doesn't Marcia look better nowadays?"