A proffer is an offer made prior to any formal negotiations. In a trial, to proffer (sometimes profer) is to offer

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 ...

in support of an

argument An argument is a statement or group of statements called premises intended to determine the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called conclusion. Arguments can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialectic ...

(for example, as used in

U.S. law The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution of the United States, Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the ...

), or elements of an

affirmative defense An affirmative defense to a civil lawsuit or criminal charge is a fact or set of facts other than those alleged by the plaintiff or prosecutor which, if proven by the defendant, defeats or mitigates the legal consequences of the defendant's o ...

or offense. A party with the burden of proof must proffer sufficient evidence to carry that burden. For example, in support of a particular argument, a party may proffer

documentary evidence Documentary evidence is any evidence that is, or can be, introduced at a trial in the form of documents, as distinguished from oral testimony. Documentary evidence is most widely understood to refer to writings on paper (such as an invoice, a con ...

witnesses In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

. Where a party is denied the right to introduce evidence because that evidence would be inflammatory,

hearsay Hearsay evidence, in a legal forum, is testimony from an under-oath witness who is reciting an out-of-court statement, the content of which is being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is inadmis ...

, or would lack sufficient

authentication Authentication (from ''authentikos'', "real, genuine", from αὐθέντης ''authentes'', "author") is the act of proving an assertion, such as the identity of a computer system user. In contrast with identification, the act of indicati ...

, that party must make a proffer of what the evidence would have shown in order to preserve the issue for

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

through a formal procedure, such as an

offer of proof An offer of proof is a kind of motion that a lawyer may present to a judge or to the official presiding over an administrative hearing. It is an explanation made by an attorney to a judge during trial to show why a question which has been objected ...

. As in business, a proffer can be a sign of "good faith" a first offer or proposal, to show a willingness to "barter".

Etymology

The word ''proffer'' is derived from Anglo-French "por-", forth, and "offrir", to offer.

References

Evidence law {{law-term-stub

Etymology

See also

References