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Burden of Proof

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Court of common pleas made a permanent fixture in London in 1215 * Common Law * Customs, traditions, legal precedents * If b is the result of a and c is equal to a then b is the result of c as well * Proof of acts * How do we prove things * Presumptions in law are set in hundreds of years of legal precedents * The party that has the burden of overcoming the presumption of that law has the burden of proof * At common law over the course of 300 years, three burdens of proof evolve. * The Default Position: * When in doubt, this is the burden of proof * Preponderance of the evidence * More likely than not * Whoever has the burden of proof, has the obligation to present anything over 50% * Ex: * Two people suing each other in a car accident * Person files compliant, other files counter, both have the burden * Have to prove the other ran the red light * Joint whiteness says that the traffic signal was working so someone did run the light * Person A has 17 witnesses that says B ran the light * B has 3 witnesses * From a quantitative basis, there is no question here * A has proven that he has the greater weight * B has someone that doesn’t know either party * Evidence is the default burden of proof * If a jury decides the evidence is even, whoever has the burden of proof loses. * Common law begins to realize that in some situations for a variety of reasons, there is a difference in the qualitative nature in the presumptions of law. * Criminal cases * The government has unlimited resources against the individual * The government has the burden of the proof * The government should be held to the highest burden and

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