Description

• Evidence law is used to determine which facts may be presented in a court case. Attorneys rely on these facts to prove or disprove claims made by their counterparts, so it is important that the evidence is reliable and pertinent to the case at hand. Evidence law strives to make sure that judges and juries have the appropriate range of evidence to make a fair judgment without being presented with any unnecessary or confusing information.
  
  

Types of Evidence

• There are several different types of evidence that may be presented in a court case. These include real evidence, demonstrative evidence, documentary evidence and testimonial evidence. Real evidence usually refers to physical items that play a direct role in the case, such as a murder weapon, bloody clothes or fingerprints. Demonstrative evidence refers to items that help illustrate witness testimony. This may include diagrams, maps or animations. Documentary evidence is a type of real evidence that is presented as a written document, such as contracts, letters or wills. Testimonial evidence refers to facts presented by witness testimony and is the most common type of evidence in court cases.
  
  

Requirements

• In order for evidence to be admissible under evidence law, it must be material, competent and relevant. For evidence to be material, it must prove a fact that is central to the case. Competent evidence refers to facts that meet established standards of reliability. The most important criteria for evidence, however, is that it is relevant to the case at hand.
  
  

Relevancy

• According to evidence law, any evidence that is presented must be relevant to the case at hand. This means that it must convey facts that directly relate to the circumstances of the case. For example, the fact that a defendant volunteers with sick children may not be pertinent to a murder case, but the fact that he wears sneakers that match footprints left at the crime scene may be relevant. In general, all relevant evidence is allowed to be presented in court, and evidence that is not relevant is not permitted to be introduced.
  
  

Burden of Proof

• Under evidence law, burden of proof refers to which party to the case is responsible for using evidence to prove or disprove the alleged wrongdoing. In civil cases, the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff, or the party to whom the alleged wrongdoing has occurred, and his or her attorney must present evidence that supports their claim. In a criminal case, the burden of proof lies with the state, or prosecution, to prove that the defendant has indeed committed a crime. The prosecutor must admit evidence that proves to the judge or jury, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty.