Standard of Proof
Definition
The level of certainty required to discharge the burden. Common criminal standard: beyond reasonable doubt. Common civil standard: balance of probabilities (more likely true than not). Scientific publication operates to yet a different standard, which is why science and law can reach different conclusions on the same evidence.
- Criminal standard
- Beyond reasonable doubt
- Civil standard
- Balance of probabilities
- Scientific standard
- Distinct from both legal standards
- Consequence
- Science and law can reach different conclusions on the same evidence
Common questions
Why might a scientific finding not be enough to meet a criminal standard of proof?+
Peer-reviewed science accepts a finding once it clears a statistical threshold of confidence, but a criminal court requires the trier of fact to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt of guilt, which weighs the scientific evidence alongside everything else in the case.
Does the standard of proof change what a forensic expert is allowed to testify?+
The standard of proof governs what the fact-finder must conclude overall, not what the expert can state about their own findings; the expert still testifies to their own level of certainty within their discipline, and the court applies the legal standard to the whole body of evidence.
Related terms
- Adversarial System
- A legal model in which two opposing parties (prosecution and defence, or claimant and defendant) present competing cases to a neutral decision-maker....
- Burden of Proof
- The obligation to prove a fact or claim. In criminal law the prosecution typically bears the burden; in civil law the claimant...
- Fact-Finder
- The person or body whose job is to determine what the facts are: a jury in common-law criminal trials, a judge sitting...
- Inquisitorial System
- A model of legal proceedings, common in civil-law countries such as France and Germany, in which the court takes an active role...
- Weight of Evidence
- The persuasive value the fact-finder assigns to evidence after it has been admitted. Weight is a jury or magistrate question, not a...