Evidence 201

Civil Liability

Guest and Employee Accidents, and Misconduct

By Jim Goding

In Evidence 101, I wrote about the strictest rules of evidence that we have to deal with, in handling criminal cases.

In criminal cases, we must be able to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that a crime occurred and that the suspect is the person who committed it, at a very specific time and place. In order to do this, every piece of evidence must be established as to its origin and originator, and proven to be unaltered. This requires very strict handling of each piece of evidence, with a complete chain of custody established and documented, with no time or access to that evidence unaccounted for.

The rules of evidence for civil cases are not as strict. Rather than “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the rules for civil liability cases work on the basis of preponderance of evidence. The bulk and quality of evidence on one side or the other determines the outcome of the case.

The key words here are “bulk and quality.” You must also be able to show, however, that all of the evidence has been presented, and that none has been intentionally or unintentionally withheld, altered or destroyed. This is the basis for one of the biggest problems in civil liability cases.

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