Law Dictionary

substantial evidence rule

A court must determine whether a reasonable trier of fact could have found the prosecution sustained its burden of proving the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.



The substantial evidence rule is regarded as a compromise between those who call for absolute deference to administrative expertise, and those who want a more careful judicial consideration of administrative actions; the concept is fairly broad, in that it permits judicial discretion if the reviewing court finds sufficient grounds to second-guess administrative decisions. The most famous quote is: "substantial evidence requires more than a scintilla of evidence.... It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable man might accept as adequate to support a conclusion."



Thus, courts may (but often don�t) consider any contrary evidence that detracts from the administrator�s decision; great deference, however, is paid to issues not in the record (e.g., expertise, witness demeanor and credibility, and other considerations which only the hearing officer is in a position to judge)

Source : LawyerIntl.com

Language : English

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