What "Reasonable Doubt" Actually Means

Every Provincial Offences Act charge has to be proven by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt. That phrase gets used loosely, but it has a specific, and fairly demanding, legal meaning.

What to Know

• The burden of proof sits entirely with the prosecution — a driver never has to prove their innocence.
• A reasonable doubt has to be grounded in the evidence or the lack of it — not in speculation invented after the fact.
• An alternative explanation for what happened does not need to be proven true. It only needs to be a rational, plausible possibility that the evidence does not rule out.
• If that kind of doubt exists once all the evidence is considered, the charge has not been proven and cannot result in a conviction.