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Re: Acceptable Level of Certainty
Posted by:
jmorse (IP Logged)
Date: February 04, 2007 07:15PM
The level of certainly required of a jury in a criminal trial is normally "beyond a reasonable doubt". If the fire investigator is only 51% certain that a fire was arson, that would not seem to rise to the necessary level, but that is a matter for the trier of fact to determine.
Say an individual is on trial for arson, and there are two fire investigators, one stating there was arson, and one stating there was not. It is obvious both cannot be correct, but both may be convinced 100% of the truth of their story.
The trier of fact, however, may be much more interested in why each investigator is convinced of his story, e.g. the facts and methodologies that led to the conclusion.
John Morse