Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 401
3. Burden of proof
In a criminal case, the amount of evidence to convict is “beyond a
reasonable doubt.” In civil cases, however, a plaintiff must prove a
person is liable for damages by a “preponderance of the evidence”
standard. A preponderance of the evidence is a much lower standard
than the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. It generally
means that the party with the greater weight of credible evidence
wins that issue. The preponderance of the evidence has been
described as more than half, that is, if the evidence demonstrates
that something more likely occurred than not, this meets the burden
of proof. Whereas in a criminal case, if there exists any “reasonable
doubt,” the burden of proof is not met. It does not mean the party
with the most exhibits or greater number of witnesses will prevail.
One highly credible witness can prevail over the testimony of a
dozen biased, shady witnesses.
EXAMPLE:
John mistakes a utility meter reader for a burglar due to his
disheveled appearance, tool bag, and because he looks to be
snooping around John’s house. John fires a shot without warning
and injures the meter reader.
Possible criminal liability: the State of Texas could bring criminal
charges against John for a number of crimes (aggravated assault,
attempted murder, deadly conduct, discharge of a firearm inside the
city limits, and so forth). The state would be seeking to imprison
and/or fine John for his conduct, and would be required to prove that
John committed the crime at issue “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Possible civil liability: the meter reader could also file a civil lawsuit
against John alleging that John was negligent or committed the tort
390 | CHAPTER SIXTEEN
