Information

Definition

Information is a written accusation by a prosecutor against a person for a criminal offense. It is similar to an indictment that would be issued by a grand jury. Information informs the defendant of the nature of the charge and the act causing the charge.

The standard of proof for information is probable cause. The United States Supreme Court (Illinois v. Gates, 1983) defined the requirements to meet probable cause. Specifically, the decision said

• the totality of the circumstances are to be used,

• probable cause is to be viewed as a set of probabilities, and

• a deficiency in one probability can be compensated by the probability in another.

These requirements, as expressed by the United States Supreme Court, have been implemented for the first time by FactLogic.

The consequences of information are substantial for the prosecutor and greater for the suspect. FactLogic helps you justify information, sparing you and the suspect the consequences of a careless decision. Because FactLogic quantifies the probability an assertion is true, the fairness of your decision can be demonstrated and can be substantiated by the judgments of others. If a prosecutor wants his judgment to be substantiated, he can select evaluators from his peers (such as other prosecutors). The evaluators use FactLogic, and statistical analysis are applied to their judgments of probable cause and the probabilities an assertion is true. The number of evaluators can be chosen for practical reasons, such as time or budget, or chosen to provide a specific precision:

Accurate Decision. FactLogic uses your judgments about independent facts and combines them according to the laws of probability. You can now make decisions with an accuracy never before possible.

Substantiated Decision. A definition of probable cause refers to " ... circumstances which would lead a reasonably prudent man to believe in guilt of the arrested party." If you enlist the independent judgments of others, you can develop a more accurate probability an assertion is true with which to compare to probable cause. If substantiated by your colleagues, your decision is easier to defend as being that of a "reasonably prudent man." The accuracy depends upon the number of independent judgments and the variation of their judgments; hence, your estimate of the probability an assertion is true can be as precise as you chose.

Begin in the following way:

• Create The Case. Create your case by entering some case information, the facts, and one or more assertions to be proved by the facts.

• Evaluate the Case Yourself or Select Evaluators. Select evaluators as you will. It is recommended that they be chosen randomly from the venue or venire.

• Assign Evaluators to the Case. Enter some identification for each evaluator, and assign an e-mail address corresponding to the connected computer assigned to each. FactLogic sends an e-mail message to each evaluator (i.e., computer). It contains the address of a page containing some background case information and the page on which each evaluaor will enter judgments for each fact.

Summary

The prosecutor can use FactLogic to determine the probability an assertion is true and compare it to either probable cause or reasonable certainty. If multiple fact finders evaluate the facts and supply their ideas of probable cause or reasonable certainty, all probabilities can be carefully defined, various comparisons can be tested, and the general verdict can be predicted.