prosecutor's fallacy

Examples of prosecutor's fallacy in the following topics:

• The Collins Case

  • The prosecutor called upon for testimony an instructor in mathematics from a local state college.
  • The prosecutor then suggested that the jury would be safe in estimating the following probabilities:
  • The Collins' case is a prime example of a phenomenon known as the prosecutor's fallacy—a fallacy of statistical reasoning when used as an argument in legal proceedings.
  • When a prosecutor has collected some evidence (for instance, a DNA match) and has an expert testify that the probability of finding this evidence if the accused were innocent is tiny, the fallacy occurs if it is concluded that the probability of the accused being innocent must be comparably tiny.
  • The Collins case is a classic example of the prosecutor's fallacy.

• Is batting performance related to player position in MLB?

  • For additional information on the ideas expressed in Example 5.38, we recommend reading about the prosecutor's fallacy.

• Logical Fallacies

  • A fallacy is an error in reasoning; there are two basic categories of fallacies--formal and informal.
  • A fallacy is an error in reasoning.
  • There are two basic categories of fallacies--formal and informal.
  • An argument that contains a formal fallacy will always be invalid.
  • Some of the more frequent common logical fallacies are:

• The Regression Fallacy

  • The regression fallacy fails to account for natural fluctuations and rather ascribes cause where none exists.
  • The regression (or regressive) fallacy is an informal fallacy.
  • It is frequently a special kind of the post hoc fallacy.
  • Assuming the pain relief was caused by the doctor is fallacious.
  • Incidentally, some experiments have shown that people may develop a systematic bias for punishment and against reward because of reasoning analogous to this example of the regression fallacy.

• Ecological Fallacy

  • An ecological fallacy is an interpretation of statistical data where inferences about individuals are deduced from inferences about the group as a whole.
  • Ecological fallacy can refer to the following statistical fallacy: the correlation between individual variables is deduced from the correlation of the variables collected for the group to which those individuals belong.
  • Ecological fallacy can also refer to the following fallacy: the average for a group is approximated by the average in the total population divided by the group size.
  • A striking ecological fallacy is Simpson's paradox, diagramed in .
  • Discuss ecological fallacy in terms of aggregate versus individual inference and give specific examples of its occurrence.

• Correlation is Not Causation

  • As with any logical fallacy, identifying that the reasoning behind an argument is flawed does not imply that the resulting conclusion is false.
  • The cum hoc ergo propter hoc logical fallacy can be expressed as follows:
  • In this type of logical fallacy, one makes a premature conclusion about causality after observing only a correlation between two or more factors.
  • This is a logical fallacy because there are at least five possibilities:
  • While well-established, this relationship is still susceptible to logical fallacy due to the complexity of the system.

• Ethical Usage: Considering Other Viewpoints

  • When the process is flawed, there may be a statistical fallacy.
  • Though many researches, scientists, pollsters, and investigators do their best to avoid fallacies, the possibility always exists that one may be proven.
  • Since it is very easy to unintentionally lie by not explaining all the nuances of the evidence and it is very easy to use evidence that may contain fallacies, it is the duty of every speaker to consider the viability of opposing viewpoints before rejecting them.

• U.S. District Courts

  • Meanwhile, criminal cases involve a U.S. attorney (the prosecutor), a grand jury, and a defendant.
  • The purpose of the grand jury is to review evidence presented by the prosecutor to decide whether a defendant should stand trial.

• Executive Privilege

  • Once invoked, a presumption of privilege is established, requiring the prosecutor to make a "sufficient showing" that the "Presidential material" is "essential to the justice of the case. " Historically, the uses of executive privilege underscore the untested nature of the doctrine, since Presidents have generally sidestepped open confrontations with the United States Congress and the courts over the issue by first asserting the privilege, then producing some of the documents requested on an assertedly voluntary basis.
  • Nixon, the 1974 case involving the demand by Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox that President Richard Nixon produce the audiotapes of conversations he and his colleagues had in the Oval Office of the White House in connection with criminal charges being brought against members of the Nixon Administration .
  • The subpoena would have required the President's Senior Advisor to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in a probe over fired federal prosecutors.

• The Fifth Amendment, Self-Incrimination, and Double Jeopardy

  • If the defendant moved for a mistrial, there is no bar to retrial, unless the prosecutor acted in bad faith.
  • For example, the prosecutor goads the defendant into moving for a mistrial because the government specifically wanted a mistrial.
  • If the prosecutor moves for a mistrial, there is no bar to retrial if the trial judge finds "manifest necessity" for granting the mistrial.