52
votes
A man killed my son and married one of the witnesses. Can the witness's statements still be used in court against him?
Short Answer
SIMPLIFIED AND UPDATED BASED ON ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN THE QUESTION:
The marriage is valid, but their marriage will not allow the girlfriend to refuse to testify as a witness in the ...
- 166k
50
votes
Accepted
No evidence is required for an indictment by a grand jury?
An indictment is issued by a grand jury when they are convinced, on the basis of evidence presented to them by the government, that there is probable cause to believe that the person committed a crime....
- 27k
49
votes
Accepted
Why is the defendant presumed guilty in traffic court?
It seems like the officer should have to present at least some kind of evidence that the alleged crime occurred.
Testimony is evidence. Officers can and do abuse this, but courts tend to give them ...
- 29.9k
37
votes
Can a witness be ignorant about a question asked to him in court?
In addition to David's answer - it's more than acceptable for a witness to say that they don't know the answer; it's a requirement of their oath / affirmation to say "I don't know" if they ...
- 31.6k
36
votes
Accepted
Why can courts refuse evidence?
Different exclusionary rules have different reasons.
Hearsay is frequently inadmissible because it's less reliable for the court to hear Alice saying "Bob told me that Carol hit him" than to ...
- 29.9k
33
votes
Accepted
How do civil courts handle denial of evidence as forged, tampered, or claims that 'I did not sign it' or 'That's not me'?
Just like every other contested assertion
They hear the testimony (evidence-in-chief, cross-examination, redirect), look at whatever physical evidence and submissions on the law that the party wishes ...
- 176k
31
votes
Accepted
Are unaudited server logs admissible in a court of law?
Whether evidence is admissible in court or not doesn't depend on whether it conforms to any standard, compliance, or certification.
Those factors may affect how strong the evidence is (i.e how ...
- 6,061
31
votes
Accepted
Can a witness be ignorant about a question asked to him in court?
Yes
"I don't know" answers are quite common in trials, and are perfectly acceptable. Indeed in some cases the aim of a question, particularly on cross examination, may be to get a witness to ...
- 112k
31
votes
When does silence imply consent?
Silence itself does not generally imply consent, but in the context of a history of transacting, silence in the face of continued actions by the other side can indicate consent. Here's a fun little ...
- 18k
29
votes
Can a covert recording be used as evidence in UK civil court?
Yes, you can ask permission from the court. From this page (by a firm of solicitors):
Recording a conversation in secret is not a criminal offence and is not prohibited. As long as the recording is ...
- 12.4k
28
votes
Could we understand that someone who is still 'innocent until proven otherwise', be 'possibly' guilty?
First we should be more specific about a person being "accused" – we should disregard lunatic rantings, and limit our attention to a person who has been officially, legally accused of a ...
- 189k
27
votes
Why is a witness evidentiary if it cannot be disproven?
The general rule is that sworn testimony of a witness with personal knowledge of the facts is competent evidence. A guilty verdict in a criminal case will only be upheld on appeal if sufficient ...
- 166k
26
votes
Why can courts refuse evidence?
You need to ask why evidence gets excluded. For example evidence that was obtained by a search without a proper warrant. That's not excluded to protect criminals, it's excluded so that law abiding ...
- 29.6k
25
votes
Can evidence a person gives to aid an investigation then be used to prosecute that person for an unrelated crime?
There are essentially no such limits on the use of such evidence.
The police are free to use evidence from one case in whatever other cases it may be helpful, and criminals have no right to turn over ...
- 51.1k
24
votes
Are unaudited server logs admissible in a court of law?
Documents are not evidence - testimony is evidence
Documents don’t just magically become “evidence” - somebody (or more than one somebody) gives evidence about them. That is, they give testimony ...
- 176k
22
votes
Are jurors instructed to not be influenced by the emotions of the witnesses?
No. Jurors generally do not receive such an instruction and it is not a rule of law or evidence. Jurors have to rule in accordance with the law, but how they judge the credibility of witnesses may be ...
- 166k
22
votes
If the Jury considers evidence that should be discarded in the US, what would the result be?
The jury would never hear the recording
The recording and its provenience would be provided to the prosecution who would, rightly, have issues with its admissibility. The defence and prosecution would ...
- 176k
18
votes
Do data protection officers typically have any actual incentive to integrity in their performance of statutory duty?
Spoliation of evidence, once a suit is filed
The reason Bob requests the video from Alice Corp is not that he is concerned about his GDPR rights, it is because he wants to file a lawsuit. In fact, it ...
- 23.8k
17
votes
No evidence is required for an indictment by a grand jury?
Beyond Nate Eldredge's excellent answer, I just want to focus on one portion of your question: "to deny commission of a crime is a "lie" apparently if the agent thinks you committed the crime."
The ...
- 608
17
votes
Why is the defendant presumed guilty in traffic court?
European viewpoint:
"Innocent until proven guilty" relates only to the criminal process.
There is also an "administrative process" where the traffic control pretty much belongs, as ...
- 1,031
17
votes
Accepted
Notice of uncontroverted facts in criminal trials
This is known as Judicial notice and is used in many jurisdictions. It is normally supposed to be used only for facts about which there could be no possible controversy. The Wikipedia article linked ...
- 112k
17
votes
Is there any way to save a Facebook post as a third-party evidence in court?
In the United States, it does not matter how you save any evidence; the other side will essentially always be permitted to question its authenticity. Even if they don't question it, a judge or jury ...
- 51.1k
17
votes
Legal/jurisprudential term to refer to any evidence that can be interpreted either way
Is there such a phrase in jurisprudential or legal thought?
In those instances it is common to say that the evidence is inconclusive. Accordingly, it is unavailing because that evidence does not ...
- 44.9k
17
votes
If the Jury considers evidence that should be discarded in the US, what would the result be?
If the jury brings in a verdict of "not guilty", even if they do so based on evidence that they should not have considered or for some other improper reason, the defendant is released and ...
- 27k
16
votes
Could we understand that someone who is still 'innocent until proven otherwise', be 'possibly' guilty?
The presumption of innocence is simply that - a presumption
Presumption: the act of believing that something is true without having any proof.
The truth value of the presumption is undefined and not ...
- 176k
15
votes
Could we understand that someone who is still 'innocent until proven otherwise', be 'possibly' guilty?
Yes, it is possible for active but as-of-yet unproven charges to have legal effect.
One example I'm aware of is when attempting to buy a firearm in Illinois. If you have pending criminal charges, ...
- 3,530
15
votes
Accepted
Can a Lease with Missing Pages be used as Evidence in Court?
Can a Lease with Missing Pages be used as Evidence in Court?
Yes. Being relevant to the claim(s) and signed by the parties gives the filed pages evidentiary weight. If the filed evidence is disputed, ...
- 44.9k
14
votes
How do prosecutors prepare to cross-examine defendants?
I'd imagine that testimony from the defendant is rare enough that in the majority of cases, prosecutors do not meaningfully prepare for a cross examination.
To the extent they do, I'd expect the ...
- 51.1k
14
votes
Obtaining information that requires a court order but before to going to the court?
There are two cases to distinguish: information that the other party does not want to give without court order, and information that the other party may not give without court order. Only the former ...
- 4,980
14
votes
Can evidence a person gives to aid an investigation then be used to prosecute that person for an unrelated crime?
In general, there is no right under the US Constitution not to have evidence that has been voluntarily provided for another purpose used for further criminal investigation.
The premise of the question ...
- 112k
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