Chicago personal injury lawyers, Articles

Burden of Proof

A burden of proof is the obligation to prove all allegations which are presented in legal actions. The rule is generally that "the necessity of proof lies with he who complains." This means that the person alleging the crime or tort must be able to prove the tort. A person has to prove guilt or liability of the defending party, but the defense does not have to prove innocence.

Innocence is presumed until proven otherwise. Basically, a burden of proof is an obligation in a particular context to defend a position against a prima facie case.

There are three broad types of burdens:

• A legal burden
• An evidentiary burden
• A tactical burden

A legal burden, also known as a burden of persuasion, stays with a single party for the duration of the claim. Once the burden has been shown completely and discharged to the satisfaction to the trier of fact, usually a jury, the party carrying the burden will succeed in its claim. As an example, the presumption of innocence places a burden on the prosecution to prove all elements of the offence, usually beyond a reasonable doubt.

Evidentiary burdens, or burdens of leading evidence, are obligations of proof which shift between parties over the course of the hearing or trial. One party submits evidence that the court will consider prima facie evidence of some state of affairs which then creates an evidentiary burden on the opposite party to present evidence which disproves the original evidence.

Tactical burdens are similar to evidentiary burdens. When a court is presented with certain evidence, the Court has the discretion to infer a fact from it unless the opposing party can present evidence that proves the opposite.

Contact a Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured by someone's reckless or negligent actions, contact the Chicago personal injury lawyers of Friedman & Bonebrake at 312-466-8200 to discuss your situation.