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Essay / Understanding Relevance Legal Standard - 919
In the grand scheme of a trial, evidence is necessary to convince jurors to render a verdict of guilty or not guilty. Evidence can take many forms such as physical evidence, substantial evidence. Regardless of the type of evidence presented, it must be relevant to the case to be admissible. “Relevance refers to any important fact or evidence tending to make the existence of a subject in dispute more likely than it would be without said fact (probative value)” (Britz, 2008, p. 344). In this article, an examination of the legal standard relating to the relevance of evidence will be discussed. Additionally, the rules for inclusion and exclusion of evidence based on the wording of the rules will be examined. In the final section, examples of evidence will be presented that could be both relevant and irrelevant to certain crimes. As mentioned earlier, relevance evidence refers to any important fact or evidence that makes the existence of an issue more likely than it would be without the facts. Where evidence has been presented and decided to be included because it passed the constitutional test and did not violate collection procedures, the proponent of the evidence will be required to demonstrate its importance, competence and relevance (Britz, 2008, p. 273). The relevance of an element assesses the materiality of the element and its probative value. The judge will make an evidentiary competency assessment, however, the jury may decide through deliberation that a specific item or witness lacks credibility, thus refusing to consider it. In order to have a complete understanding of evidence, one must understand the definition of relevance under the Federal Rules of Evidence. There are several reasons why evidence may be deemed legal ... middle of paper ... killer in drug case. This would be considered irrelevant. In conclusion, as shown throughout this article, evidence is necessary to convince juries to render a verdict of guilty or not guilty. Evidence comes in many forms such as physical evidence, substantial evidence. When evidence is presented, its acceptance at trial depends on the evidence being relevant to the case to be admissible. “Relevance refers to any important fact or evidence tending to make the existence of a subject in dispute more likely than it would be without said fact (probative value)” (Britz, 2008, p. 344). Works Cited Britz, MT (2008). Criminal evidence. Boston. Pearson Allyn & Bacon.Federal Rules of Evidence (2011) Retrieved December 18, 2011 from http://www.law.cornell.eduSpencer v. Texas, 385 US.. 554, 560 (1967)