Balancing

Although the U.S. Supreme Court generates close scrutiny of its decisions when it applies a balancing test to resolve high-profile or controversial issues before it, it is not the only court that resolves issues by balancing competing interests at stake in a legal dispute. Indeed, every day across the country state and federal courts are asked to balance the competing interests of litigants in determining the admissibility of evidence, the appropriateness of a sentence, or the viability of an appeal.

For example, state and FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE call for the exclusion of relevant evidence when its PROBATIVE value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or the needless presentation of cumulative or confusing evidence. Consequently, before one party may introduce relevant evidence over another party's objection, the judge must balance the competing interests that would be served by excluding or admitting the evidence in question.

State and federal sentencing guidelines also generally require judges to balance the aggravating and MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES underlying a criminal offense before imposing a particular sentence on a defendant. Aggravating factors are those factors that justify a more severe punishment and are typically introduced by the prosecution, victim, or victim's family. Mitigating factors are those factors that justify a less severe sentence and are typically introduced by the defendant, the defendant's attorney, or witnesses speaking on behalf of the defendant.

Finally, appellate courts often engage in some form of balancing to review the lawfulness of a lower court decision. In addition, to the above examples from the U.S. Supreme Court, appellate courts employ a variety of standards of review by which they evaluate the record for error using some form of balancing analysis. For example, the substantial evidence standard of review requires appellate courts to determine if a lower court's decision was supported by sufficient evidence to avoid being overturned, meaning that the appellate court must weigh the evidence offered by the parties to some extent. Appellate courts applying the arbitrary and capricious standard of review must not only examine the gravity of the alleged arbitrary or capricious conduct in the lower court, but they must also take into consideration any evidence that makes the lower court's decision reasonable or justifiable.