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Presumption

A legal inference that must be made in light of certain facts.  Most presumptions are rebuttable, meaning that they are rejected if proven to be false or at least thrown into sufficient doubt by the evidence.  Other presumptions are conclusive, meaning that they must be accepted to be true without any opportunity for rebuttal.  

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A legal inference that must be made in light of certain facts.  Most presumptions are rebuttable, meaning that they are rejected if proven to be false or at least thrown into sufficient doubt by the evidence.  Other presumptions are conclusive, meaning that they must be accepted to be true without any opportunity for rebuttal.  

Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary

A rule of law that permits a court to assume a fact is true until such time as there is a preponderance of evidence which disproves or outweighs the presumption. A presumption shifts the burden to the opposing party to prove that the assumption is untrue.

Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.

August 19, 2010, 5:22 pm

 

The most famous rebuttable presumption is the presumption of innocence in criminal trials.  Criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  See Criminal Procedure.  

Another example is the legal presumption that a child born to a married woman was fathered by her husband.  This presumption may be disproven by DNA evidence, witness testimony, or other sources of admissible evidence.

Some presumptions are conclusive.  For example, many states conclusively presume that a person under a certain age cannot consent to sexual intercourse.  

"Francisco Gaona-Doval appeals the sentence imposed following his guilty plea conviction of exporting from the United States to Mexico defense articles on the United States Munitions List without first obtaining an export license or written authorization for exportation.  He argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because it is greater than necessary to achieve the sentencing goals of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)."

"Gaona-Doval's arguments do not establish that the district court judge abused his discretion or committed plain error by declining to impose a shorter sentence.  Gaona-Doval has not rebutted the presumption of reasonableness that attaches to his within-guidelines sentence."

United States v. Gaona-Doval, No. 08-40872, 2009 WL 2513968, at *1 (5th Cir. Aug. 18, 2009) (citation partially omitted).