Presuming Innocence

Abstract

I discuss two questions about the meaning and implications of the Presumption of Innocence. First, is it consistent with laying either an evidential or a persuasive burden on the defendant at trial? I argue that it can be consistent with laying an evidential burden, once the prosecution proves the commission of what can properly be counted as a presumptive wrong. Second, should we understand ‘innocence’ in this context in purely legal terms, as innocence of what the law defines as an offense; or in more moralised terms? I argue for a strict formal reading of ‘innocence.’

Keywords: Presumption of innocence, burdens of proof, reverse burdens, reasonable doubt, legal and moral innocence