A trier of fact or finder of fact is a person or group who determines which

fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...

s are available in a legal proceeding (usually a trial) and how relevant they are to deciding its outcome. To determine a

is to decide, from the

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

presented, whether something existed or some event occurred. The factfinder differs by the type of proceeding. In a jury trial, it is the jury; in a non-jury trial, the

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

is both the factfinder and the

trier of law Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. In administrative proceedings, the factfinder may be a hearing officer or a hearing body.Law Dictionary: Fact-Finder
Accessed 17 November 2008.

Juries

In a jury trial, a jury is the trier of fact. The jury finds the facts and applies them to the relevant

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

or law it is instructed by the judge to use in order to reach its verdict. Thus, in a jury trial, the findings of fact are made by the jury while the

makes legal rulings as to what evidence will be heard by the jury and what legal framework governs the case. Jurors are instructed to strictly follow the law as given by the judge, but are in no way obligated to do so. In some cases this leads to jury nullification, where the jury's verdict differs from what the law states. In Anglo-American–based legal systems, finding of fact made by the jury is not appealable unless clearly wrong to any reasonable person. This principle is enshrined in the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides that "no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law".

Judges

In a bench trial, judges are professional triers of fact. In a bench trial, the judge makes both findings of fact and rulings of law. The findings of a judge of first instance are not normally disturbed by an appellate court.Lord Shaw of Dunfermline, ''Clarke v. Edinburgh and District Tramways Co''., 1919 S.C.(H.L.) 35, at p 36.

Administrative law judges

In the United States, an administrative law judge (ALJ) both presides over trials (and makes rulings of law) and adjudicates the claims or disputes (in other words, ALJ-controlled proceedings are bench trials) involving administrative law, but ALJs are not part of an independent judiciary.

Mixed systems

In mixed systems, such as the judiciary of Germany, a mixture of both judges and lay judges are triers of fact.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trier Of Fact In Anglo-American Based Legal Systems Legal procedure

Juries

Judges

Administrative law judges

Mixed systems

See also

Notes and references