Standards of Evidence used in American Jurisprudence
The American Criminal Justice System involves multiple levels of proof required to sustain a conviction or award child custody to one party over another. The sliding scale of proof is often a grey area for litigants looking to avoid prosecution. Law enforcement must meet at least two of the "proof levels" to sustain an arrest. and then must meet the highest level of proof, "beyond a reasonable doubt," to sustain a criminal conviction. Criminal defense lawyers often file pre-trial motions to knock out the prosecutors case, often citing the first two levels of "reasonable suspicion" and "probable cause" as problematic for the prosecutors. These two levels serve as the most litigated areas in the criminal justice system. It is where many DUI cases are won or lost.
