David Serna Explains The Principle of Burden of Proof

David Serna believes that it is essential for criminal lawyers to go back to the basics - the four fundamental criminal law principles. One of these principles is the burden of proof - a legal duty that encompasses two connected but separate ideas that apply to establish the truth behind the facts in a trial.

When there is a legal dispute, there is an initial presumption that one party is correct. While the other bears the burden of providing substantial evidence that will establish the truth of facts. Under the principle of burden of proof, David Serna reminds lawyers that whoever is prosecuting the accused must supply evidence persuasive enough to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. David Serna also believes that lawyers should always remember that the person on trial does not carry the burden to prove their innocence in any way. But it is in their best interest to carefully explain why they are not guilty by giving an alibi or any other evidence that can help their case.

The burden of proof consists of two distinct but related concepts: the burden of production and persuasion. The burden of production describes a party’s obligation to produce sufficient evidence to support a particular fact. David Serna reminds lawyers that determining the satisfaction of burden of production is not an issue of fact for the jury. It is an issue of law. Law enforcement also refers to satisfying the burden of production as establishing a prima facie case - establishing a legally required rebuttable presumption.

On the other hand, the burden of persuasion describes a party’s obligation to provide evidence that convinces the factfinder that a particular fact is true to a requisite degree of belief. David Serna reminds lawyers again that the prosecution’s burden should be beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases. Lawyers should also remember that burden of persuasion encompasses two elements: the facts a party must plead and prove to prevail on a particular issue; and how persuasively they must prove these facts.