Reasonable doubt

Reasonable doubt is a term used in jurisdiction of Anglo-Saxon countries. Evidence that is beyond reasonable doubt is the standard of evidence required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems.

Generally, the prosecutor bears the burden of proof and is required to prove their version of events to this standard. This means that the proposition being presented by the prosecution must be proven to the extent that there could be no "reasonable doubt" in the mind of a "reasonable person" that the defendant is guilty. There can still be a doubt, but only to the extent that it would not affect a reasonable person's belief regarding whether or not the defendant is guilty. Beyond "the shadow of a doubt" is sometimes used interchangeably with beyond reasonable doubt, but this extends beyond the latter, to the extent that it may be considered an impossible standard. The term "reasonable doubt" is therefore used.

If doubt does affect a "reasonable person's" belief that the defendant is guilty, the jury is not satisfied beyond "reasonable doubt". The precise meaning of words such as "reasonable" and "doubt" are usually defined within jurisprudence of the applicable country. A related idea is Blackstone's formulation "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer".

Reasonable doubt (disambiguation)

Reasonable doubt refers to the legal standard of proof required in most criminal cases.

Reasonable Doubt(s) may refer to:

  • Reasonable Doubt (album), an album by rapper Jay-Z
  • Reasonable Doubt (1936 film), a British comedy
  • Reasonable Doubt (2014 film), a crime thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson
  • Reasonable Doubt: Bizarre Tales of Death & Justice, a book by Wayne Howell
  • Reasonable Doubts, a 1990s American police drama TV series
  • See also

  • Beyond a reasonable doubt (disambiguation)
  • Reasonable Doubt (1936 film)

    Reasonable Doubt is a 1936 British comedy film produced by Gabriel Pascal, starring John Stuart and Nancy Burne.

    The story follows a lawyer (Stuart) whose love for a young girl (Burne) causes him to defend the man he thinks to be her lover. During the trial the lawyer finds out that the man is his own son.

    External links

  • Reasonable Doubt at the Internet Movie Database

  • Podcasts:

    PLAYLIST TIME:

    Latest News for: reasonable doubt

    Sandiganbayan reverses RTC; acquits DPWH engineer, private contractor

    Manila Bulletin 21 Mar 2025
    Buena and Lapus appealed their conviction and told the Sandiganbayan the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

    Connecticut jury acquits Navy man of sexually assaulting teen girl

    Stars and Stripes 21 Mar 2025
    New London, Conn ... There’s no doubt he would have gone to prison.” ... 29, 2023 ... “This was a tough case ... Nassetta, in his closing arguments, stressed to jurors that they needed “proof beyond reasonable doubt” in order to deliver a guilty verdict ... .

    Jury acquits Navy man from Waterford of sexually assaulting teen girl

    The Day 21 Mar 2025
    There’s no doubt he would have gone to prison.” ... 29, 2023 ... Nassetta, in his closing arguments, stressed to jurors that they needed “proof beyond reasonable doubt” in order to deliver a guilty verdict ... g.smith@theday.com ....

    Appeal court finds Campbell River man's rights not breached by use of police dog in arrest

    North Shore News 21 Mar 2025
    The prosecution service declined to approve charges against officers, despite a recommendation from the province’s police watchdog, saying it couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any officer committed an offence.

    Will DOGE or lawmakers address Indiana's controversial nursing home financing scheme?

    Courier & Press - Evansville 21 Mar 2025
    There's reason for doubt.Cost of Medicaid a growing concern ... One reason is that, at the state level, the program has virtually no direct impact on the state budget ... Now, the future of the new regulation is in doubt under the Trump administration.

    Dutton Is Set to Go on a Deportation Rampage, Potentially Targeting Pro-Palestinians

    Sydney Criminal Lawyers 21 Mar 2025
    ... constitutional change, there is no reason to doubt that when it comes to reinvigorating the deportation drive, Dutton is serious, even if some of his thought bubbles don’t stand up to scrutiny.

    ‘I never thought I’d be believed:’ Man sexually assaulted teen he met on dating website

    NewstalkZB 21 Mar 2025
    Judge Edwards said there was reasonable doubt in the evidence that the man believed the sexual interaction between them was consensual ... was not 100% sure, which was part of his reason for meeting him.

    SOLUDO’S MULTI-SECTORAL TRANSFORMATION OF ANAMBRA

    This Day 21 Mar 2025
    Still, I do not believe that his opinion of anybody or on anything should blind any reasonable person to the consequential development strides that his government has made in just three years ... And all of that at reasonable cost.

    Electric car buyers three times more likely to fall foul of luxury car tax sting ...

    The Daily Mail 21 Mar 2025
    Ian Plummer, commercial director of Auto Trader, said it is wrong to give consumers 'additional reasons not to make the switch' to electric motoring ... But he expressed doubt that this is the case for ...

    A tangle of legal eagles on the Duterte ICC case

    The Manila Times 21 Mar 2025
    First of two parts. WHAT matters in a trial court are not hearsay, gossip, assumptions and presumptions. A competent trial court does not care for skits, drama, theatrics ... Dean Mel Sta ... Sta ... Sta ... It is not proof beyond reasonable doubt.

    How Miriam Adelson Exemplifies the Supreme Court’s Rulings that Political Corruption Is Protected by the ...

    Dissident Voice 21 Mar 2025
    Government so that to document it in its structural details — as will be done here — is to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the U.S ... be seriously doubted as to this Government’s very legitimacy..

    Bombshell update on Aussie mum who stabbed her two young sons 'to save them' on ...

    The Daily Mail 20 Mar 2025
    Justice McDonald found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Ms Somerville stabbed her two children on the side of Adelaide's North South Motorway but did not know her actions were wrong ... doubt,' she said.

    Belingon confident of Folayang’s chances

    Manila Standard 20 Mar 2025
    Given the results of the gym since its formation, Belingon has no doubts that it will work for Folayang ... With that in mind, Belingon sees no reason to doubt the Filipino MMA icon’s chances in this clash.

    Richard Hughes 'knows Dean Huijsen well' but Liverpool warned it needs to sell first

    Yahoo Daily News 20 Mar 2025
    But it is not primarily for budgetary reasons — the journalist has cast doubt on whether Liverpool will be prioritizing the position at all unless another center-back departs ... is certainly in doubt.

    Conor Maynard doubles down on his claims that DNA test proved he's not the father ...

    The Daily Mail 20 Mar 2025
    Friends say the new mum has major doubts on the accuracy of ... They added that the main reason for Charlotte's doubts come from the move by Conor to change the location of the DNA test at the last minute.
    ×