Categories Of Evidence In Criminal Trial

Categories of Evidence Offered In Criminal Trials The types of evidence that are allowed in criminal trials are as follows: Demonstrative, Documentary, Real, and Testimony evidence. All types of evidence must be relevant to the case and also be reliable or credible. Demonstrative evidence is any testimony or document that be used in the court proceedings. This can include but is not limited to: graphs, physical objects, pictures, models, and enlarged documents that are used to clarify the facts of the case. Documentary evidence is paper documents as well as photos, videos, sound records, and printed e-mails. Real evidence is any material object that plays some role in the criminal case, other than a document. Examples are clothing, weapons, fingerprints, and blood samples. Testimonial evidence is oral or written testimony offered in court as proof of the truth of what is being stated. This evidence includes testimony and hearsay …show more content…
In my opinion the most important type of evidence is real evidence as this what can make or break a case. For example the eye witness testimony is great but if there is no real evidence a conviction will be slim to none. The case is built by and around the real evidence. Real evidence is what proves beyond a reasonable doubt in the jury/judge’s mind that the crime did occur.
Federal Rules of Evidence These rules were designed to provide a fair and balanced framework, thus enabling a jury to understand how it should consider certain types of evidence, and what evidence should be allowed in a criminal trial. The federal rules of evidence govern both civil and criminal rules of evidence in the U.S. These rules govern whether, when, how, and for what purpose, proof of a legal case may present evidence. The Rules of Evidence were