Editing Doubt (section)

==Law==
	
Most [[criminal law|criminal]] cases within an [[adversarial system]] require that the prosecution proves its contentions [[beyond a reasonable doubt]] — a doctrine  also called the "[[Legal burden of proof|burden of proof]]". This means that the State must present propositions which preclude "reasonable doubt" in the mind of a [[reasonable person]] as to the guilt of defendant. Some doubt may persist, but only to the extent that it would ''not'' affect a "reasonable person's" belief in the defendant's guilt.  If the doubt raised ''does'' affect a "reasonable person's" belief, the jury is not satisfied beyond a "reasonable doubt".  The [[jurisprudence]] of the applicable jurisdiction usually defines the precise meaning of words such as "reasonable" and "doubt" for such purposes.