Burden of Persuasion Law and Legal Definition
Burden of persuasion refers to the party's duty to convince the fact-finder to view the facts in a way that favors that party. It is the obligation of a party to introduce evidence that persuades the fact-finder, by the applicable standard of proof, that a particular proposition of fact is true. The burden of persuasion is comprised of two elements namely the facts a party must plead and prove in order to prevail on a particular issue and how persuasively the party must prove those facts.
In civil cases, the plaintiff's burden is usually “by a preponderance of the evidence,” while in criminal cases the prosecution's burden is “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This is also termed persuasion burden or risk of no persuasion or risk of jury doubt.
