Burden Of Proof

  

Categories: Regulations

The burden of proof is one of those phrases that you hear all the time (Law and Order comes to mind), but there are some details to it that you might not know.

The burden of proof typically lies on one party in a court case. For instance, in a criminal case, the prosecuting attorney (the side pointing the finger) has to prove the defendant (the one saying "Wasn't me!") actually...did it. That's where the Law and Order cops come in and solve the case in under an hour.

But the phrase you might now know is the "standard of proof." This one dictates how strongly the accusing group has to prove it.

For example, if you're being accused of petty theft, less proof is required because the punishment to you isn't so great. The standard of proof is lowered in proportion to the crime. But if you're being tried for murder, the standard will be much, much higher, because the crime is more serious, and the risk of damaging a person innocently accused is greater.

Interestingly, the standard of proof can be applied to both parties in a case, and be at different levels, again depending on the crime.

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What is Contingent Liability?4 Views

00:00

Finance allah shmoop what is contingent liability All right you

00:08

know what a liability is right It's a debt it's

00:11

a promise you've made that you need to fulfill teo

00:14

pay someone and fulfilling it can be done with cash

00:18

or ah promise of delivering inventory or after you've sold

00:23

the home to the joneses An interesting family with oddly

00:26

large foreheads you know delivering good title to the home

00:31

to them right So you're fulfilling liability of producing your

00:35

home so what's a contingent liability Well think of it

00:38

is a call option or a put option on a

00:41

security A contingent liability is a derivative of some other

00:46

underlying being like another liability Well the most common contingent

00:51

liability would be a filed lawsuit that is more than

00:54

just an ambulance chasing securities lawyer hoping to get a

00:58

quick five hundred grand to go away google might be

01:01

willing to pay three billion dollars toe by ring That

01:04

wireless doorbell company started by some weirdo contingent upon ring

01:09

properly defending its lawsuit from honeywell which claims that they

01:14

own the patents on the process while the financial outcome

01:17

of that lawsuit is a contingent liability to the company

01:22

Ring and the outcome of the joneses moving into town

01:25

well is a worldwide dominance and the enslavement of all

01:28

human I mean that's what's at stake their people But 00:01:31.39 --> [endTime] not least they keep their front lawn looking nice

Up Next

Finance: What is Consent To Service Of Process?
156 Views

What is Consent To Service Of Process? A Consent to Service of Process is basically a Power of Attorney type of relationship established between an...

Finance: What is a Commitment Letter?
5 Views

What is a Commitment Letter? A commitment letter is a document that is issued by a lender to a borrower pursuant to a full fledged loan agreement c...

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)