A brief is a written argument submitted to the court. Lawyers often prepare briefs which highlight and clarify certain information or provide legal comparisons in an attempt to persuade the courtroom to rule in favor of that lawyer’s client...
courts and procedure
bright-line rule
A bright-line rule is an objective rule that resolves legal questions in a straightforward, predictable manner. Because bright-line rules determine outcome entirely based on objective factors, they best allow parties to conduct their affairs...
burden
A burden is a generic term referring to a restriction on a use or activity. Often, the term arises in property law. For instance, real property may carry an intangible burden in the form of covenants or easements. These burdens generally...
burden of allegation
The burden of allegation, also known as the burden of pleading, refers to the plaintiff’s obligation to plead sufficient assertions of facts to support a cause of action against a defendant.
As established by the seminal...
burden of persuasion
The burden of persuasion is the requisite degree of belief a party must convince a jury that a particular proposition of fact is true. Combined with the burden of production, the burden of persuasion makes up one half of the burden of proof...
burden of production
The burden of production refers to a party's obligation to come forward with sufficient evidence to support a particular proposition of fact. The burden of production combines with the burden of persuasion to make up the burden of proof...
burden of proof
Generally, burden of proof describes the standard that a party seeking to prove a fact in court must satisfy to have that fact legally established. There are different standards for different circumstances.
For example, in...
Bush v. Gore (2000)
Bush v. Gore (2000) is the Supreme Court case regarding Florida’s recount of the presidential election ballots in the year 2000.
Petitioner, George W. Bush, won the 25 electoral votes in Florida (and thus the presidential...
business judgment rule
The business judgment rule provides a director of a corporation immunity from liability when a plaintiff sues on grounds that the director violated the duty of care to the corporation so long as the director’s actions fall within the...
business record exception
Business records exception is a statutory exception to the rule against hearsay in Federal and most state courts. The exception allows parties to enter regularly compiled records within an organization that meet a certain level of...