Civil Litigation-Verdict
Any decision rendered by a jury is normally expected to be unanimous in a civil case. The jury reviewing the evidence is required to apply the principle that the plaintiff has the burden of proof. The plaintiff, being the one who is bringing the claim, has the burden of proving his or her case by what is referred to as the preponderance of the evidence (the greater weight of the evidence). If you think of a scale that is evenly balanced, and if a feather were placed on one side of that scale, then that feather’s weight would constitute a preponderance of the evidence. If the plaintiff tips the scales in his or her favor by so much as a featherweight, then the plaintiff has met his or her burden of proving the case by a preponderance of the evidence.
Sometimes people ask: What does it mean to prove something? Something is proven by presenting evidence in support of it. Any evidence may be sufficient to prove something. One witness testifying that he or she saw you run a red light may be sufficient to establish your fault in an auto accident case, even though you presented ten witnesses who said that the light was green.
