The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Nolasco, 926 F.2d 869 (9th Cir. 1991):
The district judge's decision not to define reasonable doubt will be reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard. United States v. Witt, 648 F.2d 608, 611 (9th Cir.1981); see also United States v. Pace, 833 F.2d 1307, 1314 (9th Cir.1987) (discretion in formulating jury instructions generally lies with the district court), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1011, 108 S.Ct. 1742, 100 L.Ed.2d 205 (1988). To determine whether the judge has abused his discretion, we generally consider whether jury instructions, "considered as a whole ... are misleading or inadequate." United States v. Spillone, 879 F.2d 514, 525 (9th Cir.1989); see also Cage v. Louisiana, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 328, 112 L.Ed.2d 339 (1990) (assessing propriety of reasonable doubt instruction by considering "how reasonable jurors could have understood the charge as a whole"). Under this standard, it is an
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