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Rule 116 Standard of Proof

General Provisions

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Rule Text

In any hearing in which the standard of proof is not expressly designated by statute or rule, the standard of proof shall be preponderance of the evidence.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

Sometimes a law or court rule spells out exactly how strong the evidence needs to be for a judge to rule a certain way. But other times, no specific standard is mentioned. This rule fills in that gap.

When no standard is stated, the judge will use "preponderance of the evidence." This means a judge only needs to believe something is more likely true than not true, basically anything over a 50% chance. It's a lower bar than "clear and convincing evidence" or "beyond a reasonable doubt," which are used in more serious cases.

For anyone involved in a juvenile court hearing, this matters because it affects how hard the other side has to work to prove their case. If no other rule says otherwise, the judge just needs to find that one side's version of events is slightly more believable than the other side's.

Committee Notes

Advisory Commission Comments.

Most hearings in juvenile court apply an appropriate standard of proof found in statute or rule. However, the standard of proof in some hearings is not expressly stated. For example, the rule governing competency hearings does not designate a specific standard of proof. Other examples would be court approval of pretrial diversion under these rules or hearings to terminate home placement under T.C.A. § 37-1-137(e). In any such hearing, and in the absence of appellate court guidance, the appropriate standard of proof to be applied by the court would be preponderance of the evidence.