Home > Burden of proof

1 Legal uses

In jurisprudence, the burden of proof is the concept of holding one party to a dispute or one side of a debate responsible for producing a prima facie case. If this party fails to produce a valid case, the decision will go against them, without requiring any further evidence or discussion.

• Burden of proof
  • Burden of production
  • Burden of persuasion
    • Measure of proof

Burden of proof is one of the most important issues in litigation, and in criminal cases it is closely linked with the presumption of innocence - the principle in most modern legal systems that an accused person is "innocent until proven guilty".

The burden, therefore, initially lies with the plaintiffs in a case, and not on a defendant who would need to prove that something did not happen. Adequate evidence can, however, shift the burden of proof to the other party.

1.1 Criminal law

In criminal cases, the burden of proof is often on the prosecutor. The principle that it should be is known as the presumption of innocence, but is not upheld in all legal systems or jurisdictions. Where it is upheld, the accused will be found innocent if a valid case is not presented.

For example, if the defendant (D) is charged murder, the prosecutor (P) bears the burden of proof to show the jury that D did murder someone.

• Burden of proof: P
  • Burden of production: P has to show some evidence that D had committed murder
    • e.g. witness, forensic evidence, autopsy report ...
    • Failure to meet the burden: the issue will be decided as a matter of law (the judge makes the decision), in this case, D is presumed innocent
  • Burden of persuasion: if at the close of evidence, the jury cannot decide if P has established with relevant level of certainty that D had committed murder, the jury must find D not a murderer
    • Measure of proof: P has to prove all the elements beyond a reasonable doubt
      • The witness did see D fired the gun, that bulletA bullet is a typographic symbol (seen to the left). It is called a bullet point in Britain. Bullet was also the name of Roy Rogers' dog. 357 Magnum cartridges, containing bullets. A bullet is usually a metal alloy projectile shot by a gun. As opposed to did come from D's gun, D did pull the triggerIn its earliest usage, trigger refers to a mechanical mechanism, the pulling or pushing of which sets a device into action. This includes the lever that sets off the chain of events that fires a gun, the release mechanisms on a crossbow, or the lever that, the gun shot did kill the victimVictim was a British film made in 1961, directed by Basil Deardon and starring Dirk Bogarde and Sylvia Simms. The film tells the story of a homosexual barrister who is being blackmailed. Despite the risks to himself (the film was made at a time when to be ...

1.1.1 Practice

In practice, the question of who has burden of proof usually does not change the outcome of a case, because prosecutors rarely bring cases which are marginal enough so that who has burden of proof makes a difference. In any case, most criminal cases in the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in are resolved via plea bargainA plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case where a prosecutor and a defendant arrange to end the case against the defendant. The defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest (and often allocute) to the offense charged, or to a lesser offense, oring in which burden of proof again does not make a significant difference to the outcome of the case.