Beyond Reasonable Doubt Standard of Proof and Evaluation of Evidence in Criminal Cases

Towards Shared Understanding of Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt

The concept of ‘beyond reasonable’ doubt is a standard of the legal system; however, it is a standard that is not well defined. Differences in the way beyond reasonable doubt is applied in different courts suggest the need for shared understanding of the concept. This paper explores the technique of mathematical modeling to illuminate this concept/abstraction in order to have a shared understan...

Jurors' use of standards of proof in decisions about punitive damages.

Standards of proof define the degree to which jurors must be satisfied that a fact is true, and plaintiffs in civil lawsuits assume the burden of proving their claims to the requisite standard of proof. Three standards-preponderance of evidence, clear and convincing evidence, and beyond a reasonable doubt-are used by different jurisdictions in trials involving liability for punitive damages. We...

Constitutional Law - Criminal Law - Confessions Need Not Be Proved Voluntary Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Prior to Being Admitted into Evidence

Probabilistic Reasoning Using Incomplete and Singular or Unique Evidence: Complexity-Based Reasoning Innovation for Commanders

Military commanders face challenges that their counterparts in the business world would confront only in the rarest of circumstances. Commanders must make decisions that place their human and equipment resources in harm’s way. When a commander or senior civilian military decision-maker must commit to an action that endangers the lives of his or her troops, their decisions and the information or...

Measuring the Consequences of Criminal Jury Trial Protections

The Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution guarantee criminal defendants the right to a jury trial and require that the elements of crimes be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Academics, judges, and practitioners generally assume that these constitutional guarantees protect defendants. Recently, however, scholars and even members of the Supreme Court have suggested that expand...