Also known as: objective test · subjective test · objective tests · subjective tests · objective standard · subjective standard
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A pair of evaluative standards used across legal doctrines. The objective test measures conduct or belief against what a reasonable person would do or believe under the circumstances. The subjective test examines the actual mental state or belief of the individual involved.
Olga O'Neill served as trustee of a university while presiding over a contract dispute between the university and Oceanview Properties. After judgment, the losing party discovered her role and moved to vacate. The court applied an objective standard to assess whether her undisclosed interest created an appearance of partiality requiring recusal regardless of her actual knowledge.
Odin Obeng executed a search pursuant to a warrant later found defective because the supporting affidavit lacked probable cause. The prosecution offered the seized evidence. The court measured the officer's conduct against an objective standard of whether a reasonable officer would have relied on the warrant in good faith.
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Owen Ortega watched two men pace repeatedly in front of a store window and confer before one approached a third person. The officer stopped and frisked them. The court applied an objective standard to determine whether the observed conduct would lead a reasonable officer to suspect criminal activity was afoot.
Oskar Ocampo was convicted of murder and sentenced to death after his lawyer presented no mitigating evidence at sentencing. On collateral review the court measured counsel's performance against an objective standard of reasonableness to decide whether the omission fell below prevailing professional norms.
Oscar Ortiz sued a coal company whose CEO had spent millions to elect the state supreme court justice hearing the appeal. The court applied an objective standard to decide whether the contribution created a serious risk of actual bias that required the justice's recusal.
Orla O'Malley posted graphic rap lyrics describing violence against her former husband. She claimed the posts were artistic expression. The court examined whether the government must prove her subjective intent to threaten or whether an objective reasonable-person standard governs the threat element.
Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 228 prefers an objective test of reasonable satisfaction whenever it is practicable to apply one. The objective test applies unless the agreement clearly indicates that only honest, subjective dissatisfaction will excuse performance.
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The statute creates an objective appearance-of-partiality test that can require vacatur even without proof the judge had actual knowledge of the disqualifying interest. Post-judgment discovery of the interest triggers remand or reversal when the violation is neither harmless nor trivial.
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Officers and directors must meet the care a reasonably prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances. This objective benchmark focuses on the quality of the decision-making process rather than on whether harm ultimately occurred or on the actor's subjective good intentions.
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…in light of the particular circumstances. And in making that assessment it is imperative that the facts be judged against an objective standard: would the facts available to the officer at the moment of the seizure or the search "warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief" that the action taken was appropriate? Cf. Carroll…