Burden of proof is the obligation to prove allegations which are presented in a legal action. More colloquially, burden of proof refers to an obligation in a particular context to defend a position against a prima facie other position.
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.
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
- Burden of production: P has to show some evidence that D had committed murder
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 States are resolved via plea bargaining in which burden of proof again does not make a significant difference to the outcome of the case.
Civil law
In civil law cases, the "burden of proof" requires the plaintiff to convince the trier of fact (whether judge or jury) of the plaintiff's entitlement to the relief sought. This means that the plaintiff must prove each element of the claim, or cause of action, in order to recover.
The burden of proof must be distinguished from the "burden of going forward," which simply refers to the sequence of proof, as between the plaintiff and defendant. The two concepts are often confused.
Other uses
Outside a legal context, "burden of proof" means that someone suggesting a new theory or stating a claim must provide evidence to support it: it is not sufficient to say "you can't disprove this".
For example, if a person says "The Chinese government is plotting to poison our water supply" it is that person's burden of proof to prove this plot is actually occurring. If he can provide evidence that shows that the plot exists, then it becomes the skeptic's burden of proof to disprove the claim with facts of his own.
A classic example comes from Criswell's final speech at the end of Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space: "My friends, you have seen this incident, based on sworn testimony. Can you prove that it didn't happen?". Considering that the incident in question involved grave robbers from space, the burden of proof is being incorrectly assigned.