This is a comparative account, which I argue is better suited for arriving at accurate verdicts than the non-comparative ‘no plausible alternative’ account that many explanationists tacitly assume. This article defends an inference to the best explanation (IBE)-based approach on which guilt is only established BARD if (1) the best guilt explanation in a case is substantially more plausible than any innocence explanation, and (2) there is no good reason to presume that we have overlooked evidence or alternative explanations that could realistically have exonerated the defendant. One question in need of further attention is when guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt (BARD) in criminal trials. Such accounts are often criticized for being underdeveloped. Explanationist accounts of rational legal proof view trials as a competition between explanations.
