6.3 Preponderance of Evidence in Civil Cases

The civil standard: the balance of probabilities — the fact proved if it is more likely than not (the probability's scales: 51% carries the day); the court comparing the versions and choosing the more probable — the imperfect proof's realism (the civil dispute resolved on likelihood, not certainty; the tie's rule: the party bearing the legal burden loses). The standard's applications: the documents' versions (the forgery claim needing the more probable story), the witness- credibility contests, the damages' quantification (the reasonable estimate's acceptance). The contrast that frames the unit: the civil's preponderance vs. the criminal's beyond-reasonable- doubt — the two standards as the two systems' temperatures (the civil's efficiency; the criminal's liberty's caution).