EVIDENCE - What Is Character Evidence?

It is possible that during the course of a court case, the honesty and morality of a person may come into question. When this happens, a person can submit character evidence to prove his or her qualities to be true.

During a court case, an oral witness testimony can be crucial to the legal counsel who solicited the witness. When so crucial a witness testimony becomes, it also becomes as crucial to assert the character of the witness who is presenting such a testimony. Thus, character evidence is submitted to the court to prove that the individual providing a witness testimony is worth believing. However, character evidence may also be used to discredit a witness that has been solicited by the opposing counsel. An example of the use of character evidence can be seen in divorce courts wherein one spouse attempts to discredit the other in an effort to gain some form of damages or custody of the children. A spouse may also present character evidence in order to prove that he or she should gain certain assets or custody over children rather than providing character evidence that smears his or her spouse.

Character evidence can become absolutely vital to the judgment of a court case such as those regarding alimony, custody, and fraud. It is not possible to use character evidence to launch a smear campaign against another individual in court. However, character evidence is used when it is absolutely necessary and relevant to the outcome of the case.

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EVIDENCE - What Is Exculpatory Evidence?

Exculpatory evidence refers to evidence that can disprove the guilt of the person accused in a crime. This type of evidence favors the defendant or the accused contrary to inculpatory evidence which favors the victim of a crime.

Exculpatory evidence is vital particularly on the part of the person who was wrongly charged with a crime he or she did not commit at all. Under the law, police authorities who may be able to gather this type of evidence from witnesses are responsible for informing the prosecutor about this regardless whether or not they believe the testimony.

For his part, the prosecutor has the obligation to inform the accused individual and his legal counsel about such evidence. Failure to do so can lead the defendant to appeal the verdict on the case or even petition for its dismissal. Another possible consequence is a re-trial of the case. In some instances, it could also result in disciplinary actions against the people who withheld the exculpatory evidence such as the law enforcement officials.

During a court trial, the prosecution is tasked to present evidence to prove the guilt of the person accused. Prosecutors will then ask questions from witnesses who may have seen the actual commission of the crime. At this stage, inculpatory evidence is presented to prove the guilt of the defendant.

After the prosecution has presented its evidence, it’s the defense panel’s turn to present their witnesses. Their goal is prove the innocence of the accused by providing a different version of how the crime took place and detailing where the accused was at that time.

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EVIDENCE - What Is Evidence Tampering?

In law, evidence tampering refers to any attempt made to modify a piece of evidence used in a court case, usually for the purpose of tipping the scales in favor of one of the parties involved. Evidence tampering can be very simple, such as forging a signature on a document to make it look like a deal took place when it didn't - but it can also be a very complex and involved practice, for example breaking into a secured computer database and altering its information, as well as erasing security logs to prevent authorities from proving that the database has been tampered with.

Evidence tampering is a very serious offense, and some jurisdictions treat it even more seriously than false testimony (it should also be noted that in some rare cases, both are treated as the same act, though this only applies to some select few jurisdictions around the world).

Evidence tampering can occur at different stages in the course of a legal case. It can be committed directly after the crime itself, while police are still investigating the crime scene and collecting evidence - and most criminals prefer to do it this way whenever possible, as it minimizes the chances of proving evidence has been tampered with. It can also be done during the legal proceedings, by forging documents before presenting them to court, or even arranging to break into the police's evidence locker to steal/alter something - though the latter case is very rare due to the extremely high risk attached to it (as in that case, the charges pressed against the person if they are discovered will include breaking and entering in a police precinct apart from evidence tampering).

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EVIDENCE - The Basics of Circumstantial Evidence

Circumstantial evidence is also referred to as indirect evidence. This evidence plays an essential role in criminal cases because both parties involved is given the opportunity to gather circumstantial evidence to better defend and state their side. This kind of evidence could lead to conviction of the defendant if there are numerous evidences presented and other factual information that would better explain and prove their side of story that would be of help as well to decision of the court and the judge. One example of a circumstantial evidence is a testimony coming from the witness that he found someone holding a smoking gun at the place where the crime happened. This evidence could be use against the opposing party.

Circumstantial evidence gives a more creative and clearer view of certain evidences. But there are some circumstances that the presentation of such evidence could totally make the side lose. This is why it is very important to be careful in gathering Circumstantial evidences to avoid misinterpretations and so that it would still serve its purpose of showing and representing an essential picture of evidence. Evidences play an important part on the case. These evidences could either contribute to the success of the case or not this is why it is very important to carefully gather these and don’t let anyone steal or revise them. In this way, those who deserve to suffer due to the crimes they have done would be given the appropriate punishment and those innocent would stay away from the trouble.

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EVIDENCE - What Is Criminal Evidence?

When a crime is committed, the place where it was committed is often quartered off in order for detectives and investigators to evaluate whatever items are left behind. From these objects, they can assess the validity of the claims made by litigants involved. Such objects can be presented in court to a judge or jury and can be used to support statements or arguments made by lawyers. These items are referred to as criminal evidence.

Criminal evidence can come in the form of an object or item found in a crime scene or in a related location. It is also possible for witness statements in the form of testimonies to be considered as criminal evidence. The purpose of criminal evidence is to provide factual support to claims or arguments made by attorneys on behalf of their clients. Criminal evidence is meant to be a reliable source of information given that these are objective items or statements made regarding a crime or criminal incident.

Categories exist in order to specifically determine what kind of evidence is being used or presented. The first category is that of direct evidence. This type of evidence is one that is factual and true beyond any kind of reasonable doubt. On the other hand, the second category of criminal evidence is circumstantial evidence. Circumstantial evidence can suggest some form of proof or support theories or ideas for a case. However, this type of evidence is not necessarily true beyond reasonable doubt in contrast to direct evidence.

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EVIDENCE - What Is Direct Evidence?

There are different kinds of evidence that can be presented by either the prosecution or defense in a court trial. Direct evidence is one type of evidence that straightforwardly supports a truth claim, which directly leads to the proof of guilt or innocence of the defendant, while the other type of evidence is circumstantial evidence. Direct evidence is thus a direct proof of information presented to the judge and jury.

Direct evidence, in contrast to circumstantial evidence, provides objective facts that stand on their own and without any other necessary supporting facts. Examples of direct evidence include DNA samples and witness testimonies. Such witness testimonies must be first hand accounts of the events that transpired, and witnesses providing the testimony are believed to be more credible if they have no previous criminal history and are related or connected to the individuals involved in the case. It is the jury that decides whether or not take witness testimonies as direct or circumstantial evidence.

Circumstantial evidence requires supporting facts or inferred reasonable conclusions to prove a claim to be true compared to direct evidence, which essentially proves beyond reasonable doubt that an act was indeed committed by the defendant. Direct evidence is also often referred to as a smoking gun since it can be very conclusive and compelling evidence that will ultimately decide whether or not the person standing trial is guilty or innocent. Circumstantial evidence may also be referred to as a smoldering gun given that it can be nearly definitive.

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EVIDENCE - What Is Admissible Evidence?

When evidence is presented to the court, which can mean the judge, jury, or both, it is done so in an attempt to support the claims or arguments made by the defense or prosecution. But before evidence can become admissible evidence, it must meet certain standards. Such standards are relevance to the case and reliability of the evidence.

In order for evidence to be relevant, it must prove or disprove a claim or fact that is brought to the attention of the court. However, it may be difficult to admit such evidence in court if laws or public policies prevent the disclosure of such information. These laws or policies are often used by the opposing counsel to suppress evidence that may hurt their defense or prosecution. Relevant evidence includes actual items that were crucial in the defendant’s execution of the crime as well as testimonies from witnesses who were present during the crime and experts whose field of expertise is involved. Physical evidence that becomes admissible in court must be proven to be authentic and under a chain of custody, which protects its integrity from any kind of compromise. Which leads to the second standard of admissible evidence, reliability. The evidence must be proven to come from a trustworthy source. This also means that the evidence must not be compromised in order for the court to accept it. If it is compromised or tainted, evidence may not be admissible into court.

Standards for admissible evidence ensure that investigations are done in a manner that carefully handles and records evidence that are necessary for the conviction or acquittal of the defendant.

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EVIDENCE - What Is Documentary Evidence?

Documentary evidence is any evidence presented at a trial in the form of documents. It is presented for the judge and members of the jury for their inspection. This type of evidence does not only include written documents such as invoice or contract; it also involves photographs, films, printed e-mails and other forms of media that can be preserved. Documentary evidence is not always conclusive unless it is supported by other evidence. When a lawyer wishes to present documentary evidence, the counter lawyer has the right to request the subject for authentication and examination. Sometimes it is relatively easy to authenticate documentary evidence, for example, when there is handwritten evidence, a witness must testify and verify that it is the handwriting of the said author. Just like any other evidence, documentary evidence must be significant to the case.

A piece of evidence is not documentary evidence unless it is relevant to the case. If a piece of paper is presented only because it was there at the scene of the crime, then it cannot be considered as a relevant evidence, the piece of paper should have been the reason why the crime is committed in order for it to be a documentary evidence. If evidence is presented for some purpose other than the assessment of the contents of the document, then it will not be considered. Documentary evidence, just like any other evidence, must be very direct in some cases, while in others it can be more complex. There must be a reason why certain evidence is being shown in court.

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EVIDENCE - How Is Evidence Admissibility Determined?

Admissible evidence is any testimonial, documentary or tangible evidence that may be presented to a judge or jury to establish if it will be considered in a court case. The evidence must have some indicia of reliability and must be relevant without being prejudicial in order for it to be admissible.

The first factor in determining the admissibility of the evidence is relevancy. Evidence must show essential to the facts of the case. The evidence must show it could help with the investigation of the case or prove or disprove certain facts about the case.

Second factor is balance. The evidence must be studied to show whether it will do more harm than good. If the evidence might show if it will cause confusion or unnecessary prejudice to the court or if may be considered as misleading or a waste of time then it might be inadmissible.

Some evidence is forbidden in the evidence admissibility regulations. Hearsay is one kind of forbidden evidence. One person cannot testify in front of the court if he is not the source of the testimony. If he happens to just overhear two men talking about a certain topic that might be connected with the case, then that man cannot testify in front of the court. Some evidence may also be presented even during the trial. This will depend again on the relevance of the said evidence to the case. The judge has the right to admit evidence which he thinks will help the jurors more.

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EVIDENCE - What Are Rules of Evidence?

Evidence is very important objects or documents that may substantiate a claim made by a litigant in a court trial. It can be so crucial that it has the possibility of determining the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Due to its immense significance, there are certain rules and guidelines that must be obeyed when handling such evidence, which is referred to as the rules of evidence.

The rules of evidence may vary among countries and states. Evidence for a criminal offense is probably treated differently than evidence for a civil suit because both categories of law require different things.

In a court case, triers of fact are parties that are involved in the evaluation of the evidence in relation to the offense committed. There are 4 general types of evidence, and each type is handled differently. The 4 types of evidence are the real evidence, demonstrative evidence, testimonial evidence, and documentary evidence. Each type requires a different set of rules of evidence that involves the maintenance and handling of the evidence.

Rules of evidence also include the manner in which witness testimonies are conducted. Such rules involve the kind of questioning allowed by the court and the time allotted for questioning. One of the most important details involved in the rules of evidence is that which refers to the statements that are admissible and inadmissible in court. An admissible statement in court is one that is relevant, material, and competent. Aside from these details, the rules of evidence also govern the manner in which legal documents are submitted.

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EVIDENCE - What Is Circumstantial Evidence?

Circumstantial evidence pertains to a collection of evidence that concludes that a certain fact indeed exists. When such evidence turns out to be a collection, it is then referred to as corroborating evidence which means these evidences justify and strengthen each other.

This kind of evidence proves that a given fact is true by way of the strong points being given. An example of a circumstantial evidence is forensic evidence coming from an expert witness to include fingerprints, blood analysis and DNA analysis found on the crime scene. It is a fact that civil and criminal cases often lack much needed evidence the reason why circumstantial evidence is considered to be most beneficial and important in these two areas.

In Civil Law, circumstantial evidence is useful in denying or forming liability. Liability refers to money owned or debt obligations that could be applicable to “product liability”. Another circumstance that this evidence is applicable is in cases that deal with road traffic accidents or any vehicular-related accidents. Circumstantial evidence in Civil Law leads to or starts with analysis, forensic analysis that permits the reconstruction of the accident that happened. In other words, all details of the story would again be investigated for accuracy and validity.

On the other hand, in Criminal Law, circumstantial evidence could be of great help in identifying whether a person is guilty or not through the opportunity given to those accused to reason out. The statements coming from the accused would either help them or be taken against them.

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EVIDENCE - What Is the Best Evidence Rule?

The best evidence rule contends that evidence is best in its most original state. Being original, it is assumed that the document contains first hand information free from manipulation and thereby not tampered. It rarely happens that the copy of the original evidence is accepted in hearings or trials because the court still prefers the original document. It is assumed that if the original evidence is absent, an error or fraud in the copy is likely to occur.

It is only in instances when the original evidence gets lost or destroyed that a copy may be accepted. However, as there is a possibility that certain information may not be accurate, a witness needs to be presented before the court. The witness will be responsible for proving that all content written in the copy of the original are true and that nothing was changed or altered. Once the copy is proven to be fake, the witness may also be held liable.

The best evidence rule dates back to the 1800’s. In the olden days, most documents were made by hand courtesy of a clerk. This is also the time when numerous documents were copied and changed. Photographs were also easily edited and reprinted. The alterations were all done by hand and the difference from the original was hard to tell.

Today as technology continuous to advance, many people still attempt to edit and manipulate important evidences with the belief that modifications won’t easily be detected. However, this advancement in technology also benefits the court in that the original evidence is kept safely to avoid damage and loss.

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