The object of the law of evidence is to assure a high probability that questions of fact are resolved correctly. However, the judge must tell the jury that they are not bound by his or her remarks.Įvidence is often presented in a tense, emotional atmosphere in a courtroom long after the event in question took place. federal and, in some jurisdictions, state judges are permitted to comment on the credibility of the witnesses and the weight of the evidence. In their final summing up, the attorneys may make any assertion that is supported to some degree by evidence. In criminal cases, the judge has the discretionary power to order discovery in any event, the prosecutor must release all exculpatory evidence on request.Īllegedly damaging errors in the admission of evidence are reviewable on appeal if an objection was made during the trial. In civil cases, these rules compel each party to a suit to allow the other to have access to its witnesses and to certain types of evidence before the trial. In recent years the problems of procuring evidence have been eased somewhat by the introduction of broader discovery (i.e., disclosure) rules. Proof may be dispensed with when an adversary formally admits a fact either in the pleadings or in court, or when the court may take judicial notice of the fact, i.e., when the fact is universally known or is easily ascertainable by the judge beyond reasonable dispute. At the close of this presentation the criminal or civil defendant may move for acquittal or a nonsuit if admissible evidence supporting necessary contentions has not been offered. Satisfying the burden of proof requires the prosecutor or the plaintiff to present evidence first. Thus the plaintiff must offer some proof of each of the elements that combine to constitute the defendant's alleged wrong (see procedure), while the defendant must prove his or her affirmative defenses, e.g., in a suit for negligence, that the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to the injury. In civil trials, on the other hand, a party has the burden only of proving affirmative contentions by a preponderance of the evidence. In criminal trials, the prosecution has to prove each element necessary to its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The Role of Evidence in a Trial Burdens of Proof The groundwork of the rules of evidence was laid between 15. Later, the practice developed of having witnesses testify before an impartial jury. The first juries were not neutral triers of fact rather they were convened because of their immediate knowledge of the dispute before the court. Today, they are generally observed in all countries having the common law, although they have been extensively modified by statute in some jurisdictions. The rules discussed in this article were developed in England for use in jury trials. Evidence, in law, material submitted to a judge or a judicial body to resolve disputed questions of fact.
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