 After the evidence has been presented, examined and cross-examined at trial, trained judges or lay jurors must reach a decision (see Laudan 2010 for a few caveats on what the decision should be about). The decision criterion is defined by law and consists of a standard of proof, also called the burden of persuasion. If the evidence against the defendant is sufficiently strong to meet the requisite proof standard, the defendant should be found liable. This section begins with a description of standards of proof in the law, then outlines a probabilistic account of standards of proof, and discusses some objections to this account.