Editing Presumption (section)

{{short description|In law, an inference of a particular fact}}
{{for|the term in Catholic canon law|Presumption (Catholic canon law)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

In [[law]], a '''presumption''' is an "[[inference]] of a particular [[fact]]".<ref name="Black's Law">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Presumption|encyclopedia=[[Black's Law Dictionary]]|year= 1990 |last=Black |first=Henry Campbell|author-link=Henry Campbell Black|url=https://blacks_law.en-academic.com/38069}}</ref> There are two types of presumptions: rebuttable presumptions and irrebuttable (or conclusive) presumptions.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2290&context=clr|first=Otis H.|last=Fisk|journal=The Cornell Law Quarterly|volume=11|pages=20–40|date=1925|title=Presumptions}}</ref>{{rp|25}} A rebuttable presumption will either shift the [[burden of production]] (requiring the disadvantaged party to produce some [[Evidence (law)|evidence]] to the contrary) or the [[burden of proof (law)|burden of proof]] (requiring the disadvantaged party to show the presumption is wrong);<ref name="Black's Law"/> in short, a [[Trier of fact|fact finder]] can reject a rebuttable presumption based on other evidence.<ref name="Rogus">{{cite journal|url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=mjgl|first=Caroline|last=Rogus|title=Fighting the Establishment: The Need for Procedural Reform of Our Paternity Laws|volume=21|date=2014|pages=67–122|journal=Michigan Journal of Gender & Law|issue=1 |doi=10.36641/mjgl.21.1.fighting |s2cid=152740413 |doi-access=free|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|87}} Conversely, a conclusive/irrebuttable presumption cannot be challenged by contradictory facts or evidence.<ref name="Rogus"/>{{rp|87–88}} Sometimes, a presumption must be triggered by a predicate fact—that is, the fact must be found before the presumption applies.<ref name="Hall">{{cite journal|first=Keith B.|last=Hall|journal=Tulane Law Review|url=https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1144&context=faculty_scholarship|title=Evidentiary Presumptions|pages=1321–28|volume=72|date=1998}}</ref>{{rp|1321–22}}