Civil Litigation-Burden of Proof
As previously stated, the plaintiff has the burden of proof in a civil case. There are different burdens that apply in different types of cases. Generally, in a civil case, the burden of proof is what is referred to as the preponderance of the evidence—the greater weight of the evidence. Recall the example of tipping the scales by a featherweight. If the plaintiff tips those scales by so much as a featherweight, then his or her burden of proof based upon a preponderance of the evidence has been met.
In some civil claims, however, the burden of proof may be somewhat higher. In particular, regarding fraud claims, the burden of proof is generally considered to be what is called clear and convincing evidence. That burden of proof or standard of proof is higher than simply a preponderance of the evidence. If you were to think of a preponderance of the evidence as being something more than fifty percent, then clear and convincing evidence would be a level of proof in the range of seventy-five to perhaps as high as ninety percent.
Another term that is used in criminal cases is that of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That is a level of proof that even goes beyond clear and convincing evidence, and probably is more in the range of ninety percent.
It is probably misleading to try to ascribe numerical figures to any of these standards of proof, since they really are not susceptible to numerical classification. These numerical classifications are merely designed to provide some illustration of the different levels of burden of proof.
