The Bard Standard: From Historical Sources to New Challenges. A Comment on Della Torre

The work comments on Della Torre’s essay about the evolution of the reasonable doubt criminal standard of proof. By going through the main claims of the essay, which is both historical and theoretical, the work contends that the essay clarifies (and hopefully soothes) some badly framed discussions on that standard, furthermore that it provides valuable reasons to prefer the reasonable doubt formulation over some revolutionary ambitions, and that it sheds light on the reasons for taking the standard not only in the strict reading of an evidentiary threshold but also in the broad one of a method or even a principle of criminal justice. Finally, the work suggests some refinements to Della Torre’s arguments and addresses the tension between the reasonable doubt safeguards and the efficiency of the criminal justice system.