Consider a case in which a defendant is arrested for trying to buy cocaine. He found a dealer and offered to trade a gun for a couple of ounces of the drug and the dealer accepted. The defendant was arrested and is now being prosecuted under a statute that gives many years of prison to anyone who $$uses a firearm$$ in relation to a drug trafficking offence. The judge on the case is tasked with determining whether the statute in question actually covers the case. In other words, did the defendant $$use a firearm$$ when offering to trade a gun for drugs, or is a firearm $$used$$ only when employed as a weapon? In rendering a decision on the applicability of the statute to the present case, the judge must consider whether the statute applies to the case:

Group of answer choices

beyond a preponderance of the evidence

none of the other answer options

beyond any reasonable doubt

beyond any possibility of doubt