Also known as: preponderance of the evidence · preponderance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of proof requiring the party with the burden to establish that a fact is more probable than not. The standard is satisfied when the evidence shows the existence of the fact is more probable than its nonexistence.
Magnolia Foods offers an engineer to testify that a processing machine caused a fire. The engineer reviewed plant logs and performed tests showing the machine's wiring fault was the ignition source. The court finds it more likely than not that the engineer's specialized knowledge will help the jury decide causation and that the opinion rests on sufficient data and reliable methods.
After Matthew Martinez is acquitted of murdering his uncle in a criminal trial, the uncle's estate petitions the probate court to bar Martinez from inheriting. The court holds a separate civil hearing and finds it more likely than not that Martinez feloniously and intentionally killed the decedent, so the slayer rule applies and Martinez receives nothing.
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The government seeks to introduce evidence that Michael Miller previously diverted nonprofit funds to show motive in the current embezzlement charges. The court finds it more likely than not that Miller committed the prior acts and that the probative value on the non-propensity issue is not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice.
Mariam Mansour's will leaves her house to her niece but describes the property by an outdated lot number. The niece offers extrinsic evidence showing the testator always referred to the current residence by that number. The court finds it more likely than not that the testator intended the current house and construes the will accordingly.
Parents sue a pharmaceutical company claiming a drug caused their child's birth defect. Their expert presents epidemiological studies showing the drug more than doubles the risk. The court finds it more likely than not that the expert's testimony is based on reliable principles and methods that will assist the jury on causation.
A defendant convicted of murder petitions for habeas relief alleging counsel failed to investigate an alibi. The defendant presents affidavits from two witnesses who would have placed him elsewhere at the time of the crime. The court finds it more likely than not that counsel's performance fell below professional norms and that the omission affected the outcome.
The party bearing the burden must persuade the fact finder that the existence of a fact is more probable than its nonexistence. This is the default standard of proof in most civil actions and in many preliminary evidentiary determinations.
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More likely than not requires only that a fact is more probable than not. Reasonable doubt requires the prosecution to prove every element to a near certainty and applies only in criminal cases.
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Under Rule 702 the proponent must show it is more likely than not that the expert is qualified, the testimony will help the trier of fact, the opinion rests on sufficient facts or data, and the methods are reliable and reliably applied.
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A final criminal conviction for intentional killing conclusively establishes slayer status. In the absence of a conviction the probate court applies the more likely than not standard in a separate civil proceeding.
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When no rule of construction applies the court construes the will in accordance with the donor's intention to the extent that intention is established by a preponderance of the evidence.
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…that "[a]ny determination at the conclusion of [an adjudicatory] hearing that a [juvenile] did an act or acts must be based on a preponderance of the evidence."[^maj-2] During a subsequent dispositional hearing, appellant was ordered placed in a training school for an initial period of 18 months, subject to annual extensions of his commitment…