Actually... it's a tenet often used in courtThank goodness.
The commonest way I can think it comes up is, for example, 'The fact that we didn't find semen on her pants doesn't mean the rape never happened, it just means there's no semen on her pants'.
You would then discuss other possible/likely explanations based on your experience and expertise. And unless you're a numpty, you would include 'the rape never happened' as one of the possible explanations.
(The commonest way I can think it comes up is, for example, 'The fact that we didn't find semen on her pants doesn't mean the rape never happened, it just means there's no semen on her pants'.
You would then discuss other possible/likely explanations based on your experience and expertise. And unless you're a numpty, you would include 'the rape never happened' as one of the possible explanations.
Mockingbird Practitioner of SCIENCE,
Mon 24 May 2010, 16:41,
archived)