Burden of Proof & Federal Rules of Evidence

Video Transcript

"You've been watching some legal programs and you've heard some phrases tossed about and you're curious what this is all about. Hello, I'm Robert Todd and I'm here to answer the question what is burden of proof and the federal rules of evidence? Well first of all, when you talk about going to trial and presenting a case, there are various levels or thresholds of evidence that must be met to establish your case. For example in a general civil matter, to prevail you must present the greater preponderance of the evidence. If you imagine Lady Justice with the scales, it means you must tip the scale slightly over the other scale. Then there's the burden of proof known as clear and convincing which means that you pretty much have to lower the one scale by the tremendous amount of evidence that you had presented on your side. Then there is for example the burden of proof beyond and to the exclusion of a reasonable doubt which is the burden of proof that the state or the federal government has in a criminal prosecution. They must prove with the evidence beyond and to the exclusion of a reasonable doubt. Now with respect to the federal rules of evidence, that is a code of evidence that sets forth what is admissible and what is inadmissible. It is a body of law that takes some comprehensive study to understand and to utilize. I'm Robert Todd and thank you for watching."