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image/svg+xml Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Closed Access logo, derived from PLoS Open Access logo. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Philosophical Issuesarrow_drop_down
image/svg+xml Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Closed Access logo, derived from PLoS Open Access logo. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao
Philosophical Issues
Article . 2021 . Peer-reviewed
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Grounding legal proof

Authors: Michael S. Pardo;

Grounding legal proof

Abstract

When facts are proven within the formal process of legal proof, in virtue of what are they proven? This deceptively simple question is both a matter of enormous practical importance and a matter of intense, ongoing dispute within evidence scholarship. A conventional story purports to answer this question in terms of probabilistic facts (or, alternatively, in terms of beliefs about probabilistic facts). An alternative to this conventional story answers this question in terms of explanatory facts (facts about the relationships between possible explanations, evidence, and disputed events). This article examines legal proof, and the debates in legal scholarship, through the lens of “grounding.” In employing this perspective, one asks: in virtue of what are facts proven within legal proof? Another way of asking this question is to ask: what grounds the fact that a disputed fact is proven, when it is proven? This article argues for a general thesis and a specific thesis. The general thesis is that the philosophical literature on grounding provides a useful analytical framework for understanding both legal proof and the ongoing debates in legal scholarship. The specific thesis is that when facts are proven within the process of legal proof, they are proven in virtue of various explanatory facts. The article concludes by discussing some of the implications of the analysis for philosophers analyzing the epistemology of legal proof.

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Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
3
Top 10%
Average
Average
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