CASE IN CHIEF
The portion of a trial whereby the party with the
BURDEN OF PROOF in the case presents its evi-
dence. The term differs from a rebuttal, whereby a
party seeks to contradict the other party’s evi-
dence. Case in chief differs from “case” in that the
latter term encompasses the evidence presented by
both the party with the burden of proof and the party with the burden of rebutting that evidence.
FURTHER READINGS
Glannon, Joseph W. 2001. Civil Procedure: Examples and
Explanations. Gaithersburg, VA: Aspen Law & Business.
Kane, Mary Kay. 1996. Civil Procedure in a Nutshell. 4th ed.
St. Paul,Minn.:West Group.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Burden of Proof; Rebut.
