## Facts

- John Sullivan was tried in Louisiana state court for first-degree murder.
- The trial judge instructed the jury on “reasonable doubt” using language essentially identical to a Louisiana pattern instruction previously invalidated in *Cage v. Louisiana*.
- The instruction equated reasonable doubt with concepts such as “grave uncertainty,” “actual substantial doubt,” and “moral certainty,” lowering the constitutionally required burden of proof.
- The jury found Sullivan guilty of first-degree murder.
- The jury recommended a death sentence, and the trial court imposed a death sentence.
- On direct review, the Louisiana Supreme Court recognized the instruction was unconstitutional under *Cage* but affirmed the conviction and sentence by deeming the error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the error could be reviewed for harmlessness.

## Issues

1. Whether a constitutionally deficient reasonable-doubt instruction is subject to harmless-error analysis under *Chapman v. California*.
2. Whether giving a Cage-type reasonable-doubt instruction is a “structural” error that requires automatic reversal because it prevents a valid jury verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
3. Whether an appellate court may affirm by concluding the evidence was strong enough that a properly instructed jury would have convicted.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Louisiana Supreme Court and remanded.
- The Court held that a constitutionally deficient reasonable-doubt instruction cannot be harmless error.
- The Court concluded the error is structural because it denies the Sixth Amendment right to a jury verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The Court reasoned that harmless-error review requires an actual, constitutionally valid verdict to assess whether the error affected the outcome; a Cage-type instruction means no such verdict exists.
- Chief Justice Rehnquist concurred, agreeing the error is structural, while emphasizing that structural-error classification is rare and that most constitutional errors remain subject to harmless-error review.

## Legal Principles

- Due process requires proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; the jury-trial right requires the jury—not an appellate court—to make the finding of guilt under that standard.
- The constitutionally required verdict is “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”; when the reasonable-doubt instruction is defective, the jury has not returned a verdict that satisfies the Sixth Amendment.
- Harmless-error analysis asks whether an identified error contributed to a valid verdict; where the standard of proof was misstated, the defect “vitiates all the jury’s findings,” leaving no verdict to evaluate.
- Appellate affirmation based on speculation about what a properly instructed jury would have done improperly substitutes appellate judgment for the jury’s role.
- A Cage-type reasonable-doubt instruction is a structural defect in the trial mechanism, with effects that are unquantifiable and indeterminate, and therefore requires automatic reversal.

## Conclusion

Because the jury was instructed on a constitutionally inadequate reasonable-doubt standard, Sullivan was denied the Sixth Amendment right to a jury verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; the resulting conviction could not be sustained through harmless-error review and had to be reversed and remanded.


Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275 (1993)