Court evidence is presented during a trial and can support or discredit a case. Evidentiary rules dictate admissibility, relevance, and fairness. Physical and witness evidence are common types, including documentary, factual, demonstrative, and circumstantial evidence.
Court evidence refers to evidence presented in court during a hearing or trial. It can be used to make one side’s case or to tear down the opposing side’s case. Most jurisdictions have implemented detailed evidentiary rules governing the types of evidence that can be presented in a case. These rules usually specify the circumstances that make evidence admissible or inadmissible during a trial.
Admissible evidence can be presented to a fact finder during a hearing or trial, while inadmissible evidence cannot be given to the investigator. To be admissible, court evidence must usually assist the investigator in determining the outcome of the case. Also, evidence cannot be objected to by opposing counsel on grounds such as relevance or hearsay. Evidence that is unfairly prejudicial to one of the parties may also be made inadmissible. For example, in a criminal case, a judge may prevent the prosecution from showing graphic photographs of murder that could unfairly sway the jury against the defendant.
Two broad categories of judicial evidence commonly introduced are physical and witness evidence. Witness support usually comes in the form of a plaintiff, a defendant, and witnesses who provide oral testimony about the facts in question. Physical media is typically a material, paper, or other object that is brought in as evidence by a lawyer. For example, a prosecutor may introduce a forged check as physical evidence in an identity theft case.
Several types of physical court evidence may be presented at trial, including documentary, factual, and demonstrative evidence. Documentary support consists of written documents or other documents presented as evidence. It can include paper documents, such as a business contract or trust agreement, as well as other types of media, such as video recordings or emails.
Demo media is usually a real item sent in a case. For example, a plaintiff’s attorney may present an X-ray in a malpractice lawsuit against a doctor. The real evidence consists of the real object on which the case is based. In a product liability lawsuit involving flammable pajamas, for example, a plaintiff’s attorney may introduce the actual pajamas as evidence. Usually, an appraiser offers testimony on the item in question.
Circumstantial evidence is a type of indirect judicial evidence. It is deduced that a certain event occurred based on a number of facts. For example, to prove that a defendant committed murder, a prosecutor may present a murder weapon, fingerprints, and testimony from a witness who heard a gunshot go off. This may be enough to convict the defendant, even if the witness did not actually see the murder.
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