Moral Certainty
A Dictionary of Law · Henry Campbell Black · 1891
A Dictionary of Law
In the law of criminal evidence, Thatdegree of assurance which induces a manof sound mind to act, without doubt, upon the conclusions to which it leads.
Wills, Cire. Ev. 7.
A certainty that convinces and directs the understanding and satisfies the reason and judgment of those who are bound to act conscientiously upon it, A high degree of impression of the truth of a fact, falling short of absolute certainty, but sufficient to justify a verdict of guilty, even in acapitail case.
See Burrill, Cire. Ey. 198-200.
The phrase “moral certainty” has been {ntroduced into our jurisprudence from the publicists dorf that, “when we declare such a thing to be morally certain, because it has been confirmed by credible witnesses, this moral certitude is nothing else butastrong presumption grounded on probable reasons, and which very seldom fails and decaivea us." “Probable evidence, ” says Bishop Butler, in the opening sentence of his Analogy, “ia esgentially distinguished from demonstrative by this: that it admits of degrees, and of all variety of them, from the highest moral certainty to the very low est presumption.”
115 Mass. 23,