Legal Definitions - illation

Illation refers to the act of drawing a conclusion based on available facts or evidence, or the conclusion itself that is reached through such a process of reasoning. It is essentially an inference.

• Example 1: During a criminal investigation, a detective finds a unique footprint at a crime scene and later discovers a suspect owns shoes with an identical tread pattern. The detective's mental process of connecting these two facts to conclude that the suspect was likely present at the scene is an act of illation.

  Explanation: This illustrates the "act or process of inferring" as the detective uses logical reasoning to draw a conclusion from the evidence.

• Example 2: In a product liability lawsuit, after reviewing expert testimony about a manufacturing defect and examining the damaged product, the jury makes an illation that the defect was the direct cause of the consumer's injury.

  Explanation: Here, the term refers to the "inference" itself—the conclusion reached by the jury based on the presented evidence.

• Example 3: A lawyer observes that the opposing counsel has repeatedly objected to questions related to a specific financial transaction throughout the discovery phase of a case.

  Explanation: From this pattern of behavior, the lawyer makes an illation that the opposing party is trying to conceal information about that particular transaction, which might be detrimental to their case. This is an inference about the opposing party's strategy, derived from their actions.