Weight of evidence is a legal term used to evaluate the sufficiency of evidence presented in a legal dispute. The judge must evaluate the evidence provided and determine what is relevant and credible. The party whose overall presentation of evidence is more convincing should win the case.
Weight of evidence is a legal term used to evaluate the sufficiency of evidence presented in a legal dispute. For this method of analysis to work, it is necessary to consider the opposing parties’ evidence and compare them. This confrontation should lead to a decision as to which side appears to have the stronger case. The party who does not have the weight of proof, therefore, should be the party against whom the court rules.
In a court case, there are at least two sides. The prosecution would typically have to bear the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt. Both sides, however, will likely present evidence to back up their claims. This could lead a person to incorrectly assume that the party presenting the most evidence will be the one whose case carries the most weight and therefore the winner.
One reason that more evidence does not necessarily result in a favorable outcome is that some evidence is not necessarily true, some will be found inadmissible, and sometimes evidence verification is not available to determine the truth of evidence. It is important to remember that evidence is only physical, sometimes oral and other times physical, provided in an attempt to convince the judge of the facts, who is usually a judge, jury or magistrate.
It is these individuals’ legal responsibility to evaluate the evidence provided and determine what is relevant and what is credible. Another assumption that should not be made when trying to understand the weight of evidence principles is that all evidence must be verified. Sometimes verification is not possible, but the judge of fact can still find the evidence credible. This means that it will count in favor of the party that submitted it.
While the jury may find some evidence credible even when it lacks concrete support, that does not mean that it is given higher value than evidence that can be corroborated. When considering the weight of evidence, some items may weigh more than others. For example, a photograph may carry more weight than an unverified oral testimony, although the judge of facts is inclined to believe both. One of the difficulties of being a judge of the facts is that each side may have some evidence weighing in favor of their arguments. The party whose overall presentation of evidence is more convincing can be said to have the weight of evidence and, therefore, should win the case.
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