Why clear and convincing evidence?
A. That’s the standard the courts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts have deemed to be the constitutional minimum (the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently went even a step beyond the standards in the proposed amendment). Also, that’s the Supreme Court-approved test used in making decisions about pretrial release. In both settings (pretrial release and Megan’s Law) a court is called upon to make a determination about the extent to which an individual poses a future threat to the community. They are both predictive models and fit well together analytically.
Related Questions
- Does the presence of MOLST eliminate the need for hospitals to establish clear and convincing evidence of the incapacitated patient’s wishes for end of life treatments?
- Is any particular type of evidence generally considered clear and convincing evidence of reasonable compensation for personal services?
- What Is Clear, Cogent, and Convincing Evidence?
