Chapter 3 Fifty Shades of Law
WHAT IS EVIDENCE AND WHEN IS IT ADMISSIBLE
All parties in court cases in England and Wales must produce evidence in support of their case. Without supporting evidence a claim or prosecution or defence is highly likely to fail. Therefore it is vitally important that all who contribute to providing evidence understand what constitutes evidence and when it is admissible. In law, rules of evidence govern the types of evidence that are admissible in a legal proceeding. Types of legal evidence include testimony, documentary evidence, and physical evidence.
WHEN IS EVIDENCE ADMISSIBLE
Not all evidence produced is admissible in court and there are clear legal rules as to what evidence is admissible.
Under the rules of evidence, the first rule is that it must be relevant to be admissible. For the evidence to be relevant, the facts which are subject to being proved or disproved must amount to:
• Facts in issue, i.e. those which need to be proved by one party.
• Relevant facts, i.e. those which tend to prove the facts in issue.
• Collateral facts which may, for example, affect the credibility and/or competence of a witness.
TYPES OF EVIDENCE Oral evidence
The parties, witnesses and experts will usually give oral evidence in open court. Oral evidence is evidence put forward as the truth of its contents. Oral evidence is made on oath in open court and put forward as evidence of its truth.
Witness statements – lay and expert
Lay witness statements should be a true and accurate summary of a lay witness’s evidence as to the facts that occurred. Statements should not be in the word of another person. They should be written in the first party.
A statement of a witness sets out what the witness believes to be the relevant evidence in a case; it must be based upon their own knowledge of the facts, and not conjecture.
An expert witness report or statement is the written evidence of an expert, such as a surveyor, engineer or other professional.
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