On the limitations of a unitary model of the proof process

Abstract

In defense of their “explanatory” theory of the proof process, Professors Ronald Allen and Michael Pardo maintain that a successful theory of this kind should correspond to the way that jurors actually reason, to the structure of American trials, and to typical jury instructions. They also demand that such a theory should be normatively defensible. This response suggests that using a single theory to cover such disparate ground obscures more than it clarifies, given the important gaps between psychological, doctrinal, and normative aspects of the fact-finding process.