Eighteenth-century French law graded evidence into proofs combined by fixed arithmetic rules

Evidence

Now, these distinctions are not simply theoretical subtleties. They have an operational function. First, because each of these kinds of evidence, taken in isolation, may have a particular type of judicial effect: ‘full’ proof may lead to any sentence; ‘semi-full’ proof may lead to any of the ‘peines afflictives’, or heavy penalties, except death; imperfect and slight clues are enough for the suspect to have a writ issued against him, to have the case deferred for further inquiry or to have a fine imposed on him. Secondly, because they are combined according to precise arithmetical rules: two ‘semi-full’ proofs may make a complete proof; ‘adminicules’, providing there are several of them and they concur, may be combined to form a semi-proof; but, however many there may be of them, they can never, of themselves, constitute a complete proof. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 87

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the technical hierarchy of penal evidence: full, semi-full, and adminicule proofs, with their combinatory arithmetic.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader reading on how pre-modern legal institutions used formalized information and reputation systems. — connects to: Classical penal evidence worked by continuous gradation, not true-or-false judgement — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 93; Legal reasoning yields probability rather than absolute mathematical truths — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 242

Related

• Classical penal evidence worked by continuous gradation, not true-or-false judgement (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Classical penal evidence worked by continuous gradation, not true-or-false judgement #corroborates (0.95) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 93
• Legal reasoning yields probability rather than absolute mathematical truths #expands (0.75) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 242