Also known as:prima facie showings · prima facie case · prima facie evidence
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A preliminary evidentiary presentation sufficient to support an inference or satisfy a threshold requirement. The presentation raises a presumption or permits further inquiry and shifts the burden of production to the opposing party.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Pattern of Strikes Against Latino Jurors
Luis, a Latino procurement officer, faced trial for bribery. The prosecutor used peremptory challenges to strike five of six Latino city employees while retaining similarly situated non-Latino employees. Defense counsel objected and pointed to the pattern. The trial court overruled the objection without further inquiry. On appeal the court held that the pattern supplied the necessary prima facie showing and required the prosecutor to offer race-neutral explanations.
Cross Burning With Intimidation Claim
A homeowner burned a cross on a neighbor's lawn at night. The neighbor sued under a state statute that treated cross burning as prima facie evidence of intent to intimidate. The defendant introduced testimony that the act was a protest against local development. The court ruled that the statute could not treat the burning itself as sufficient prima facie evidence without allowing the defendant to show an expressive, non-threatening purpose.
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Cases
Statutes
Uniform Acts
Casebooks
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Study Supplements
Dictionaries
Voter Dilution Claim in Apportionment
Residents of urban districts challenged Tennessee's legislative apportionment as diluting their votes. They presented census data showing wide population disparities between districts. The state moved to dismiss for lack of a justiciable controversy. The court held that the residents' statistical presentation constituted a prima facie showing sufficient to survive the motion and proceed to trial on the merits.
Baker v. Carr369 U.S. 186, 211
Challenge to Agency Rulemaking Procedure
An environmental group petitioned to set aside a nuclear licensing rule. It submitted comments and data showing the agency had ignored material safety studies. The agency argued the petition failed to meet the threshold for judicial review. The court held that the group's submission made a prima facie showing that the agency had not engaged in reasoned decision-making and remanded for further proceedings.
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc.467 U.S. 837, 843, 104 S. Ct. 2778, 2781, 81 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1984)
Admissibility of Aircraft Accident Report
Survivors of a plane crash offered an investigative report containing pilot statements. The manufacturer objected that the statements lacked authentication. The plaintiffs presented the report's official cover page, signatures, and chain-of-custody affidavit. The court ruled that the documents supplied a prima facie showing of authenticity and admitted the report subject to the jury's ultimate determination of weight.
Beech Aircraft Corp. v. Rainey499 U.S. 153 (1988)
School Funding Equal Protection Claim
Parents in a low-wealth school district sued the state alleging that funding disparities violated equal protection. They submitted data showing per-pupil expenditures in their district were less than half those in affluent districts. The state moved for dismissal on the pleadings. The court held that the disparity data established a prima facie showing of unequal treatment and denied the motion.
San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez411 U.S. 1, 93 S. Ct. 127, 36 L. Ed. 2d 16 (1973)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
5
What must a party show to establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination in jury selection?+
A defendant must point to a pattern of strikes or other circumstances that raise an inference that the prosecutor exercised peremptory challenges on the basis of race. Once that showing is made the burden shifts to the prosecutor to articulate race-neutral reasons.
Supporting sources
Does a prima facie showing require conclusive proof of the ultimate fact?+
No. The showing need only raise an inference or meet a minimal threshold. It is not the same as proof by a preponderance or beyond a reasonable doubt and does not end the inquiry.
Supporting sources
What happens after a court finds a prima facie showing in a Batson challenge?+
The burden of production shifts to the party that exercised the strikes to offer race-neutral explanations. The court then determines whether the explanations are credible or pretextual and whether purposeful discrimination has been proven.
Supporting sources
Can a statute make an act itself prima facie evidence of intent without further proof?+
No. A statute may not treat the act alone as sufficient prima facie evidence when the defendant is entitled to show an expressive or non-threatening purpose. The defendant must be allowed to rebut the inference.
Supporting sources
How does a prima facie showing function in a motion for preliminary injunction?+
The plaintiff must present evidence that supports the elements of a cause of action. If that threshold is met the court may exercise discretion to grant temporary relief pending a full hearing on the merits.
418 U.S. 323, 94 S. Ct. 2997, 41 L. Ed. 2d 789 (1974)Torts
…comment in defined situations. But it remained true that in a wide range of situations, the ordinary citizen could make out a prima facie case without proving more than a defamatory publication and could recover general damages for injury to his reputation unless defeated by the defense of truth.[^maj-9] The impact of today's…