Teran Sanchez v. People.

2026 CO 60. No. 25SC148.

September 14, 2026

The supreme court assessed the constitutionality of COLJI-Crim. E:03 (2022), the 2023 pattern jury instruction on the presumption of innocence, burden of proof, and reasonable doubt (2023 Instruction). In particular, the court considered whether the 2023 Instruction’s “firmly convinced” and “real possibility” language and the county court’s and prosecution’s statements impermissibly lowered the burden of proof and shifted that burden to Teran Sanchez.

After evaluating long-standing judicial endorsement of “real possibility” and “firmly convinced” under federal and Colorado law and their common meanings, the court held that the 2023 Instruction is constitutional and neither lowers the burden of proof nor shifts that burden to the defendant. In addition, the court considered the county court’s statements in the context of the instructions as a whole and the trial record and reviewed the prosecution’s statement for plain error. In doing so, the court further held that there was no reasonable likelihood that the jury understood the 2023 Instruction and the court’s and prosecution’s statements, taken as a whole, as allowing a conviction based on a standard lower than beyond a reasonable doubt.