2007 California Evidence Code Article 1. General

CA Codes (evid:500-502)

500.  Except as otherwise provided by law, a party has the burden of
proof as to each fact the existence or nonexistence of which is
essential to the claim for relief or defense that he is asserting.



501.  Insofar as any statute, except Section 522, assigns the burden
of proof in a criminal action, such statute is subject to Penal Code
Section 1096.


502.  The court on all proper occasions shall instruct the jury as
to which party bears the burden of proof on each issue and as to
whether that burden requires that a party raise a reasonable doubt
concerning the existence or nonexistence of a fact or that he
establish the existence or nonexistence of a fact by a preponderance
of the evidence, by clear and convincing proof, or by proof beyond a
reasonable doubt.