Burden of proof (law)

In a legal dispute, the burden of proof, also called the onus of proof, is the obligation on one party to establish that they are correct by producing evidence sufficient to satisfy every legal element required for their claim or defense, while the opposing party ordinarily carries no equivalent obligation and is presumed correct unless that burden is met. The burden generally falls on the party bringing a claim, reflecting the Latin maxim that the necessity of proof always lies with the person who lays the charge: in civil suits the plaintiff must prove the defendant's actions caused the injury while the defendant must prove any affirmative defense, and in criminal cases the prosecution carries the burden while the defendant is presumed innocent. If the party bearing the burden fails to meet it, the claim is dismissed. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/