Is a defendant entitled to an instruction on the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt?

19 I recognize that in People v. Vann (1974) supra, 12 Cal.3d 220, 227, 115 Cal.Rptr. 352, 357, 524 P.2d 824, 829, this court stated somewhat obliquely that a defendant is entitled to an instruction on the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt "buttressed by additional instructions on the meaning of that phrase" (fn. omitted). The quoted words were plainly dicta, however, unsupported by either analysis or authority. I cannot believe the court would reiterate the statement after mature consideration of the body of judicial and scholarly opinion set forth herein.