BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

In a trial of a defendant criminal court, this is the burden of proof which the prosecution must meet in order to obtain a guilty verdict. This is the highest level of proof required. The concept of reasonable doubt is often referred to as that being a moral certainty. In order to obtain a conviction, the jury must believe that this level of proof has been met with regard to every element of the crime. To contrast, another level of proof such as a preponderance of the evidence means that the trier of fact determines that what is alleged by the prosecuting party is more likely than less likely to have occurred.