- burden
- Capacity for carrying cargo. Something that is carried. Something oppressive or worrisome. A burden, as on interstate commerce, means anything that imposes either a restrictive or onerous load upon such commerce@ burden of going forwardThe onus on a party to a case to refute or to explain as in the case of one who is charged with possession of stolen goods after the government has introduced evidence of the defendant's recent possession of such goods, the inference being that the defendant knew the goods to have been stolen. Barnes v. U. S., 412 U.S. 837, 846, n. 11, 93 S.Ct. 2357, 2363, 37 L.Ed.2d 380@ burden of persuasionThe onus on the party with the burden of proof to convince the trier of fact of all elements of his case. In criminal case the burden of the government to produce evidence of all the necessary elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 1073, 25 L.Ed.2d 368.See also burden of proof@ burden of producing evidenceThe obligation of a party to introduce evidence sufficient to avoid a ruling against him on the issue. Calif.Evid.Code.Such burden is met when one with the burden of proof has introduced sufficient evidence to make out a prima facie case, though the cogency of the evidence may fall short of convincing the trier of fact to find for him. The burden of introducing some evidence on all the required elements of the crime or tort or contract to avoid the direction of a verdict against the party with the burden of proof. Stuart v. D. N. Kelley & Son, 331 Mass. 76, 117 N.E.2d 160.@ burden of proof(Lat. onus probandi.)In the law of evidence, the necessity or duty of affirmatively proving a fact or facts in dispute on an issue raised between the parties in a cause. The obligation of a party to establish by evidence a requisite degree of belief concerning a fact in the mind of the trier of fact or the court. Burden of proof is a term which describes two different concepts; first, the "burden of persuasion", which under traditional view never shifts from one party to the other at any stage of the proceeding, and second, the "burden of going forward with the evidence", which may shift back and forth between the parties as the trial progresses. Ambrose v. Wheatley, D.C.Del., 321 F.Supp. 1220, 1222.The burden of proof may require a party to raise a reasonable doubt concerning the existence or nonexistence of a fact or that he establish the existence or nonexistence of a fact by a preponderance of the evidence, by clear and convincing proof, or by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Except as otherwise provided by law, the burden of proof requires proof by a preponderance of the evidence. Calif.Evid.Code, No. 115.In a criminal case, all the elements of the crime must be proved by the government beyond a reasonable doubt. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368.Except in cases of tax fraud, the burden of proof in a tax case generally is on the taxpayer. Term has been used to mean either the necessity of establishing a fact, that is, the burden of persuasion, or the necessity of making a prima facie showing, that is, the burden of going forward. State Farm Life Ins. Co. v. Smith, 29 Ill.App.3d 942, 331 N.E.2d 275, 278."Burden of establishing" a fact means the burden of persuading the triers of fact that the existence of the fact is more probable than its non-existence. U.C.C. No. 1-201(8).See also beyond a reasonable doubt- reasonable doubt@
Black's law dictionary. HENRY CAMPBELL BLACK, M. A.. 1990.
