BURDEN OF PROOF Definition & Meaning

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burden of proof

noun

Chiefly Law. the obligation to offer evidence that the court or jury could reasonably believe, in support of a contention, failing which the case will be lost.
the obligation to establish a contention as fact by evoking evidence of its probable truth.

burden of proof

noun

law the obligation, in criminal cases resting initially on the prosecution, to provide evidence that will convince the court or jury of the truth of one's contention

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of burden of proof¹

First recorded in 1585–95

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Idioms and Phrases

Obligation of proving a disputed charge or allegation. For example, Are you sure you mailed the tax return on time? The burden of proof's on you . A legal term dating from the late 1500s, it has also been used more loosely in recent times.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A higher legal threshold applies to a criminal case than a civil case as in a criminal case the burden of proof is beyond reasonable doubt.

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In a criminal case, the burden of proof is beyond reasonable doubt, while in a civil case, it is on the balance of probabilities.

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But because the delays and discharges occurred in an area of the hospital classified as an emergency room, lawyers said that Texas law set a much higher burden of proof: “willful and wanton negligence.”

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Those rule changes involved amendments to the definition FMV, and shifting the burden of proof to a club to show a transaction is at fair market value.

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SB 1299 would change the burden of proof in workers’ compensation claims when a farmworker develops a heat-related injury after laboring outdoors for an employer who fails to comply with the heat standards.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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