Reference no: EM132703295

1. One type of evidence is direct evidence, which is based on personal knowledge or observation of the person testifying. Looking at direct evidence, there is no need for an inference or presumption (Hails, 2014). If the testimony is believed by the jury, the fact it relates to is conclusively established. An example of direct evidence would be a testimony of an eyewitness. Sometimes direct evidence may be deemed inadmissible in a criminal proceeding. For instance, the direct evidence may not be relevant to the alleged crime or that its probative value may out weighted by unfair prejudice, confusion of issues, misleading the jury, or considerations of undue delay or waste of time. This is also known as the Federal Exclusion Rule 403 (Hails, 2014). Some examples of direct evidence that can be inadmissible is if an eyewitness lied under oath or if an eyewitness does not recall what happened because they were under the impression of drugs or alcohol. In cases like this, direct evidence will be questioned by the judge or jury and later will be inadmissible in court.

2. Direct evidence is based on personal knowledge or observation of the person testifying (Hails, 2018). Specific direct evidence may be deemed to be inadmissible, meaning that the items of evidence can not be used during the trial as evidence against the accused. Also, Even if a proof is deemed relevant by a judge, it could be excluded if the possibility that it would confuse a jury, mislead jurors, or unfairly prejudice jurors against a defendant is more significant than its "probative value" (Justicia, 2019). For example, if a witness makes a statement that did not prove or disprove any fact, it would not be used in trial because their statement would be considered irrelevant. Another example is if a witness was under the influence (drugs or alcohol), making it unreliable.

3. Direct evidence is personal knowledge of a person. This is not facts or proof it is just what a person believes and says. An example is testimony. Testimony is only relied on by a witness or victims word of mouth. There is no proof or facts but it is what they state has happened. A second example would be fingerprints. Fingerprints as years have gone on have been tampered with. So it can stand as evidence but it is not factual. It will need more support and proof behind it.

4. Direct evidence is when evidence is directly linked to someone that committed the crime. For example, a witness testifying in court to tell the jury what he or she saw when the crime was committed. In this case, no inference is required since it is a direct observation from a witness. For direct evidence, the jury has to determine the credibility of the witness such as the demeanor and the possibility if they are telling the truth. If the witness was not actually on the crime scene to see the crime happen, it is not admissible in a criminal proceeding. For instance, if a person was knocked out with a heavy item before the criminal actually committed the crime their testimony is inadmissible because they did not see what happened during the time they were passed out. Another example is if the person may have some knowledge on forensics but they are not experts in that field with a degree of credibility, this direct evidence may be inadmissible in a criminal proceeding.

5. Direct evidence is based on personal knowledge or observation of the person testifying. No inference or presumption is needed. If the testimony is believed by the jury, the fact it relates to is conclusively established. Certain direct evidence may be deemed inadmissible in a criminal proceeding if it was legally obtained and is not privileged. Circumstantial evidence is admitted at the discretion of the judge. The judge considers whether the evidence is relevant and balances other factors such as the amount of time it will take to introduce the evidence, confusion that may result from the evidence, and the possibility that the evidence may be unduly prejudicial. Two examples of direct evidence is, there has to be physical evidence such as a murder weapon, or in an abduction, there has to be a ransom note where the abductors send a ransom note wanting money for their love one back.