Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer

Preponderance of Evidence

In any case, be it civil or criminal, for a defendant to found guilty, the evidence against them must meet or exceed a specific standard. In criminal cases, this standard is extremely high, with good reason. The punishment in most criminal cases involves the revocation of civil liberties, and can possibly include jail time or even a sentence to death. As such, a criminal defendant must be shown to be guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt." Or, to put this numerically, a defendant must be shown to be 100% guilty.

In civil cases, the standard is much lower, as it is difficult if not impossible to prove the level of guilt necessary for a criminal conviction. The standard that must be met by the plaintiff is referred to as the "preponderance of evidence". Whereas a criminal conviction requires 100% certainty of guilt, a civil ruling may only require a certainty of guilt greater than 50%.

However, this definition is inherently inexact; evidence can not be quantified into a specific number to be inserted into a formula. Rather, this requires the interpretation of the court to determine whether the evidence meets this standard.

Additionally, the court may raise or lower the preponderance of evidence standard depending on the case in question. A case involving the violation of basic civil liberties may have a much lower preponderance of evidence standard than a personal injury case where millions of dollars worth of damages are at stake.

Contact Us

If you have been injured and are unsure of whether or not you can prove your case, contact the Las Vegas personal injury lawyers of William Palmer & Associates, P.C. at 702-888-2222.