Criminal law. The absence of facts that are prerequisites for the sentence given to a defendant. • In death-penalty cases, actual innocence is an exception to the cause-and-prejudice rule, and can result in a successful challenge to the death sentence on the basis of a defense that was not presented to the trial court. The […]
Proof that establishes a fact by showing that its opposite is not or cannot be true. Cf. positive proof. [Cases: Evidence 586. C.J.S. Evidence §§ 339, 1309, 1328.]
common knowledge. A fact that is so widely known that a court may accept it as true without proof. See JUDI-CIAL NOTICE. [Cases: Evidence 5. C.J.S. Evidence § 45.]
probable cause. 1. Criminal law. A reasonable ground to suspect that a person has committed or is committing a crime or that a place contains specific items connected with a crime. • Under the Fourth Amendment, probable cause — which amounts to more than a bare suspicion but less than evidence that would justify a
An instruction requiring a jury to find for one party and against the other if the jury determines that, based on a preponderance of the evidence, a given set of facts exists. — Also termed binding instruction. [Cases: Trial 234(3, 4), 253. C.J.S. Trial §§ 625–626, 672.]
mandatory instruction Read More »
conjectio (k[schwa]n-jek-shee-oh), vb. [Latin “an inference”] Hist. A conclusion drawn from evidence; a fact inferred from the evidence presented. Pl. conjectiones (k[schwa]n-jek-shee-oh-neez).
color of title. A written instrument or other evidence that appears to establish title but does not in fact do so. — Also termed apparent title.
Employment law. The principle that, when the evidence in an employment-discrimination case shows that the complained-of employment action was based in part on a nondiscriminatory reason and in part on a discriminatory reason, the plaintiff must show that discrimination was a motivating factor for the employment action and, if the plaintiff makes that showing, then
mixed motive doctrine Read More »
Trademarks. A name or symbol used by a seller or manufacturer to identify goods or services and to distinguish them from competitors’ goods or services; the term used colloquially in business and industry to refer to a corporate or product name, a business image, or a mark, regardless of whether it may legally qualify as