Harmless Error and the “No Reasonable Possibility” Test

The terms “harmless error” and “reversible error” are well known terms in the trial and appellate world. In a nutshell, a harmless error is an error committed by the trial judge that does NOT impact the fairness of the trial; a reversible error is an error that does impact the fairness of the trial. A party appealing a trial judge’s ruling (appellant) aims to establish that the trial judge’s ruling, etc. amounted to reversible error. The party responding to the appeal (appellee) aims to establish that there was no error, but if there was, it was harmless. If an error amounts to...

26 December

0 Comments

Sticky

Satisfying the Burden of Proof by a “Greater Weight of the Evidence”

Posted by David Adelstein

in Burden of Proof, Evidence

The burden of proof (or burden of persuasion) in a civil case is NOT the same “beyond a reasonable doubt” burden that the government has in convicting a criminal defendant. The burden of proof in a civil case is a much lesser burden. Rather, the burden of proof in a civil case is often referred to as the burden to prove YOUR case by a “preponderance of the evidence” now known as the “greater weight of the evidence.” It is this “greater weight of the evidence” burden of proof that a jury will be instructed upon. The jury will be instructed that it is...