A criminal case pits the plaintiff against the defendant. Two parties are expected to plead their case in front of a jury or a judge before a ruling is made. The principle of burden of proof expects the plaintiff to present evidence of prepondering weight to counter the proof provided by the defense. The proof of evidence is meant to convince a judge or a jury that the accused is free of any guilt and therefore deserves acquittal (Risner, 2017). Undoubtedly, this principle is the most used rule of evidence to decide majority of the cases in the courts. Moreover, the burden of proof ensures that all the necessary evidence required to win a case is presented in court. Notably, the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty (Risner, 2017) . This principle plays a critical role in the justice system. It helps to exonerate wrongfully accused individuals and to give the defense the chance to prove the innocence of the accused. What is more, the accused individuals are prevented from having to prove that they are innocent. The other important principle is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The law stipulates that for an individual to be found guilty, the prosecution must be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused acted against the law, and he had a guilty state of mind when he broke the law (Risner, 2017). While a judge or a jury may believe that an individual is not guilty, proof beyond a reasonable doubt is what determines the judgment to be made. Therefore, if the evidence is not enough, the jury will dismiss the case. It is, therefore, the responsibility of both the defense and the prosecution to present a watertight case to have a chance of winning over the judge and the jury. These legal principles ensure that the accusers and the accused get justice no matter the nature of the case.
References
Risner, F. (2017). Innocent Until Proven Guilty. New York: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
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