Editing Prima facie

{{short description|Latin expression meaning "at first sight"}}
{{Italic title}}
{{For|the play by Suzie Miller|Prima Facie (play){{!}}''Prima Facie'' (play)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
'''''Prima facie''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|r|aɪ|m|ə|_|ˈ|f|eɪ|ʃ|i|,_|-|ʃ|ə|,_|-|ʃ|i|iː}}; {{ety|la|prīmā faciē}}) is a [[List of Latin phrases|Latin expression]] meaning "at first sight",<ref>{{cite web |title=prima facie |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/prima-facie |website=Cambridge Dictionary |publisher=Cambridge University Press |access-date=30 August 2021}}</ref> or "based on first impression".<ref name="reamer">{{cite journal |last1=Reamer |first1=Frederic G. |title=Prima Facie and Actual Moral Duties in Social Work |journal=Social Work Today |date=November 2014 |url=https://www.socialworktoday.com/news/eoe_111014.shtml}}</ref> The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of ''{{linktext|primus}}'' ("first") and ''{{linktext|facies}}'' ("face"), both in the [[ablative (Latin)|ablative case]]. In modern, colloquial, and conversational English, a common translation would be "on the face of it". 

The term ''prima facie'' is used in modern [[legal English]] (including both [[Civil law (common law)|civil law]] and [[criminal law]]) to signify that upon initial examination, sufficient corroborating [[evidence]] appears to exist to support a case. In [[common law]] jurisdictions, a reference to ''prima facie evidence'' denotes evidence that, unless [[rebuttal|rebutted]], would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact.<ref name="herlitz">{{cite journal |last1=Herlitz |first1=Georg N. |title=The Meaning of the Term "Prima Facie" |journal=Louisiana Law Review |date=November 1994 |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=394–397 |url=https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5569&context=lalrev |access-date=30 August 2021}}</ref> The term is used similarly in academic [[philosophy]].<ref name="reamer" /> Most legal proceedings, in most [[jurisdiction]]s, require a ''prima facie'' case to exist, following which proceedings may then commence to test it, and create a ruling.<ref name="herlitz" />

The similar '''''ex facie''''', [[Latin]] for "on the face [of it]," is a legal term typically used to note that a document's explicit terms are defective without further investigation.  For example, a contract between two parties would be void ''ex facie'' if, under a legal system where it was a binding requirement for validity, the document did not require party A to give [[consideration]] to party B for services rendered.

==Burden of proof==
{{main|Burden of proof (law)}}

In most legal proceedings, one [[Party (law)|party]] has a burden of proof, which requires it to present ''prima facie'' evidence for all of the essential facts in its case. If it cannot, its claim may be dismissed without any need for a response by other parties.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Herlitz |first1=Georg N. |title=The Meaning of the Term Prima Facie |journal=Louisiana Law Journal |date=November 1994 |volume=55 |issue=2 |page=391}}</ref> A ''prima facie'' case might not stand or fall on its own; if an opposing party introduces other evidence or asserts an [[affirmative defense]], it can be reconciled only with a full [[trial]]. Sometimes the introduction of ''prima facie'' evidence is informally called ''making a case'' or ''building a case''. For example, in a trial under [[criminal law]], the [[prosecution]] has the burden of presenting ''prima facie'' evidence of each element of the crime charged against the [[defendant]]. In a [[murder]] case, this would include evidence that the victim was in fact dead, that the defendant's act caused the death, and that the defendant acted with [[malice aforethought]].  If no party introduces new evidence, the case stands or falls just by the ''prima facie'' evidence or lack thereof, respectively.

''Prima facie'' evidence does not need to be conclusive or irrefutable: at this stage, evidence rebutting the case is not considered, only whether any party's case has enough merit to take it to a full trial. In [[common law]] jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and the United States, the prosecution in a criminal trial must disclose all evidence to the defense. This includes the ''prima facie'' evidence. An aim of the doctrine of ''prima facie'' is to prevent litigants from bringing spurious charges which simply waste all other parties' time.

==''Res ipsa loquitur''==
''Prima facie'' is often confused with ''[[res ipsa loquitur]]'' ('the thing speaks for itself', or literally 'the thing itself speaks'), the common law doctrine that when the facts make it self-evident that negligence or other responsibility lies with a party, it is not necessary to provide extraneous details, since any reasonable person would immediately find the facts of the case. The difference between the two is that ''prima facie'' is a term meaning there is enough evidence for there to be a case to answer, while ''res ipsa loquitur'' means that the facts are so obvious a party does not need to explain any more. For example: "There is a ''prima facie'' case that the defendant is liable. They controlled the pump. The pump was left on and flooded the [[plaintiff]]'s house. The plaintiff was away and had left the house in the control of the defendant. ''Res ipsa loquitur''." In Canadian tort law, this doctrine has been subsumed by general negligence law.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fontaine v. British Columbia (Official Administrator) |url=https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1605/index.do |website=Supreme Court of Canada Judgments |date=January 2001 |access-date=26 December 2021}}</ref>

==Use in academic philosophy==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2024}}
The phrase is also used in academic [[philosophy]]. Among its most notable uses is in the theory of [[ethics]] first proposed by [[W. D. Ross]] in his 1930 book ''[[The Right and the Good]]'', often called the ''Ethic of Prima Facie Duties'', as well as in [[epistemology]], as used, for example, by [[Robert Audi]]. It is generally used in reference to an obligation. "I have a ''prima facie'' obligation to keep my promise and meet my friend" means that I am under an obligation, but this may yield to a more pressing duty. A more modern usage prefers the title ''[[pro tanto]] obligation'': an obligation that may be later overruled by another more pressing one; it exists only ''[[pro tempore]]''.

==Other uses and references==
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2014}}
[[File:Example photo 1 of a prima facie speed limit - Rapid River, Michigan (United States).jpg|thumb|Example of a ''prima facie'' speed limit posted in [[Rapid River, Michigan]]]]
The phrase ''prima facie'' is sometimes misspelled ''{{sic|hide=y|prima facia}}'' in the mistaken belief that ''{{sic|hide=y|facia}}'' is the actual Latin word; however, ''faciē'' is in fact the [[ablative (Latin)|ablative case]] of ''faciēs'', a [[Latin declension#Fifth declension (e stems)|fifth declension]] Latin noun. In [[Policy debate#Theory|policy debate theory]], ''prima facie'' is used to describe the mandates or planks of an affirmative case, or, in some rare cases, a negative [[counterplan]]. When the negative team appeals to ''prima facie'', it appeals to the fact that the affirmative team cannot add or amend anything in its plan after being stated in the first affirmative constructive.

A common usage of the phrase is the concept of a "''prima facie'' speed limit", which has been used in Australia and the United States. A ''prima facie'' speed limit is a default speed limit that applies when no other specific speed limit is posted, and may be exceeded by a driver;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Speed Laws {{!}} Westlake Village, CA - Official Website |url=https://wlv.org/284/Speed-Laws#:~:text=Prima%20Facie%20Speed%20Limits%20Prima,approaches%20to%20low-visibility%20intersections. |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=wlv.org}}</ref> however, if the driver is detected, and cited by police for exceeding the limit, the onus of proof is on the driver to show that the speed at which the driver was travelling was safe under the circumstances. In most jurisdictions, this type of speed limit has been replaced by absolute speed limits.

==See also==
{{wiktionary|prima facie}}

* [[Advisory speed limit]]
* [[Defeasible reasoning]]
* [[List of Latin phrases]]
* [[Probable cause]]
* [[Proximate cause]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Audi |first=Robert |year=2003 |title=Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction |edition=Second |publisher=Routledge |page=27 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Herlitz |first=Georg Nils |date=November 1994 |title=The Meaning of the Term ''Prima Facie'' |journal=[[Louisiana Law Review]] |url=https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5569&context=lalrev |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=391 }}

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[[Category:Common law]]
[[Category:Latin legal terminology]]
[[Category:Latin logical phrases]]
[[Category:Latin philosophical phrases]]
[[Category:Legal reasoning]]