I thought I read this here, but maybe I heard it somewhere else:

Someone defined Preponderance of the evidence as the feather on the scales of justice. Or something close. Anyone out there ever hear this, and if you did who said it?

http://www.emusic.com/album/10754/10754130.html?fref=150051

Twang dynasty's 'Feather on the Scales of Justice', a 7 minute 30 second rock song.

http://www.gaiantarot.com/majors/justice.html

In Egyptian mythology, it is said that the heart of the recently dead is weighed against the feather of Ma�at, Goddess of Justice. If the scales balance, he or she is welcomed into Paradise. If the scales do not balance, the person�s heart is devoured by a demon.

http://www.worldofstock.com/search_pages/scales.php

You can order pictures of a scale and feather at this website.

http://www.cliftonunitarian.com/toddstalks/scalesofjustice.htm

More on Maat and the balance of the heart versus the feather.

Just a few of the 464,000 google entries for 'feather on the scales of justice'.

On topic, I've heard two pieces of paper: one clean; one with a single mencil mark.. used in the same sort of explanation.

I did a quick Westlaw search and found numerous references to a particular fact being "the feather on the scales", but the cases were all from the early 1900s.

My evidence professor in law school used to say - "A mere scintilla is just a feather on a pillow" I don't know the legal significance of that, but it has stuck with me all these years.

Hmmmm . . . what was your grade in that class?

Are the scales of justice really accurate enough to weigh a feather? What if it is a split verdict? What percentage of certainty does the feather represent? What percentage of certainty does the "great" weight of evidence represent? When is a preponderance of evidence not clear and convincing? Why don't we eliminate feathers and just tell the jury something like: "Try to weigh the evidence with reason and neutrality and make your verdict as accurate as you can considering what is at stake."

Yeah, how can scales weigh a feather? The scales at the grocery store won't even register the weight for a single jalapeno. (Try it. The cashier will get frustrated and you'll get a free pepper.). But why are we prosecutors talking about POE? What I encounter more often is defense attorneys who want to voir dire on their own opinion of what BRD means, now that there's no official definition.

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Originally posted by jane starnes:
Yeah, how can scales weigh a feather? The scales at the grocery store won't even register the weight for a single jalapeno. (Try it. The cashier will get frustrated and you'll get a free pepper.). But why are we prosecutors talking about POE? What I encounter more often is defense attorneys who want to voir dire on their own opinion of what BRD means, now that there's no official definition.

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EXCEPT with a certain few judges, who refuse to believe that the GEESA definition still lives, despite black letter law to the contrary.