Truth, knowledge, and the standard of proof in criminal law

Journal article


Littlejohn, Clayton. (2020). Truth, knowledge, and the standard of proof in criminal law. Synthese. 197(12), pp. 5253-5286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1608-4
AuthorsLittlejohn, Clayton
Abstract

Could it be right to convict and punish defendants using only statistical evidence? In this paper, I argue that it is not and explain why it would be wrong. This is difficult to do because there is a powerful argument for thinking that we should convict and punish defendants using statistical evidence. It looks as if the relevant cases are cases of decision under risk and it seems we know what we should do in such cases (i.e., maximize expected value). Given some standard assumptions about the values at stake, the case for convicting and punishing using statistical evidence seems solid. In trying to show where this argument goes wrong, I shall argue (against Lockeans, reliabilists, and others) that beliefs supported only by statistical evidence are epistemically defective and (against Enoch, Fisher, and Spectre) that these epistemic considerations should matter to the law. To solve the puzzle about the role of statistical evidence in the law, we need to revise some commonly held assumptions about epistemic value and defend the relevance of epistemology to this practical question.

Keywordsknowledge; justification; punishment; knowledge-first epistemology; epistemic value; criminal law; rational belief; blame; moral responsibility; gnosticism; veritism
Year2020
JournalSynthese
Journal citation197 (12), pp. 5253-5286
PublisherSpringer
ISSN0039-7857
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1608-4
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85033396509
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range5253-5286
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online08 Nov 2017
Publication process dates
Accepted31 Oct 2017
Deposited24 May 2022
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