Woodby v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

In two consolidated deportation cases, the courts of appeals disagreed about the government's burden of proof: the Second Circuit ultimately settled on 'reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence' after initially favoring a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard, while the Sixth Circuit applied the same lower standard without explicitly addressing the question. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the appropriate burden of proof in deportation proceedings.

Whether, in a deportation proceeding, the government must establish the facts supporting deportability by a standard of clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence.