This is the standard of proof most familiar to Law & Order fans (and other shows, but sorry, I'm biased). A "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard is the highest one that the courts employ, because courts take very seriously any trial in which someone's personal liberty is at stake. If you're potentially going to jail, the courts want to make sure they get the right person first. The standard is amorphous, as many frustrated people have said, but is said to be met when people are firmly convinced of a person's guilt (we have heard that wording before) and though they are not free of any possible doubt, any reasonable ones have been eradicated.
People have tried to measure what "beyond a reasonable doubt" means as a percentage (how likely is it that this person is guilty?), and the numbers vary. These standards are not fixed in any way, but the system has been working fairly well for over 200 years this way so there isn't any impetus to change it.
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About Me
- Carl Archer
- I am an elder law attorney with my own solo practice. I'm located in central New Jersey but I make house calls. I am in the business of setting the elderly and their caregivers at ease, by making sure they have high-quality health care they can afford, and governmental benefits they're entitled to.