Presumptions and Burdens of Proof

• Jurisdiction: Maryland

III. PRESUMPTIONS AND BURDENS OF PROOF

The burden of proof in a trial has two components, the burden of production and the burden of persuasion. Presumptions are mechanisms which affect the burden of proof. A "presumption" is mainly a standardized practice for uniform treatment of certain facts.¹⁰

Presumptions are adopted by the legislatures or the courts for public policy reasons or because they have a high probability of being correct. Presumptions also allocate the burdens of proof among the parties when one party has more access to the evidence. A good discussion of the different types of presumptions and the reasons for adopting such presumptions may be found in Montgomery County Fire Board v. Fisher, 298 Md. 245, 250-60, 468 A.2d 625, 628-33 (1983). Fisher also discusses the different ways that presumptions are handled during a trial with regard to burdens of persuasion and burdens of production.

In employment law cases, a well known allocation of the burden of proof is set forth under McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802 (1973), which sets forth the burden of proof for providing discrimination with circumstantial evidence. This allocation has been adopted for state law discrimination issues without discussion in the case of Department of Natural Resources v. Heller, 391 Md. 148, 171, 892 A.2d 497, 510-11 (2006).

MARYLAND RULE 5-301 and FED. R. EVID. 301 are the evidentiary rules that apply to presumptions in civil actions.

A. Not All "Presumptions" Are the Same

A "presumption" in the law has five distinct meanings according to Judge Moylan in Evans v. State, 28 Md. App. 640, 674-79, 349 A.2d 300, 325-28 (1975), aff'd, State v. Evans, 278 Md. 197, 362 A.2d 629 (1976). Those meanings are...