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The Nature of Evidence: KINDS OF EVIDENCE

المؤلف:  Max M. Houck، Jay A. Siegel

المصدر:  Fundamentals of Forensic Science

الجزء والصفحة:  46

2026-06-15

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The Nature of Evidence: KINDS OF EVIDENCE

Most evidence is real; that is, it is generated as a part of the crime and recovered at the scene or at a place where the suspect or victim had been before or after the crime. Hairs, fingerprints, paint, blood, and shoeprints are all real evidence. Sometimes, however, items of evidence may be created to augment or explain real evidence. For example, diagrams of hair characteristics, a computer simulation of a crime scene, or a demonstration of bloodstain pattern mechanics may be prepared to help the trier-of-fact understand complex testimony. Such demonstrative evidence was not generated directly from the incident but is created later. Because it helps explain the significance of real evidence, it does help make a proposition more or less probable and is, therefore, evidence. “In More Detail: Kinds of Evidence” lists other varieties of evidence.

IN MORE DETAIL: KINDS OF EVIDENCE Circumstantial evidence: Evidence based on inference and not on personal knowledge or observation. Conclusive evidence: Evidence so strong as to overbear any other evidence to the contrary. Conflicting evidence: Irreconcilable evidence that comes from different sources. Corroborating evidence: Evidence that differs from but strengthens or confirms other evidence. Derivative evidence: Evidence that is discovered as a result of illegally obtained evidence and is therefore inadmissible because of the primary taint. Exculpatory evidence: Evidence tending to establish a criminal defendant’s innocence. Foundational evidence: Evidence that determines the admissibility of other evidence. Hearsay: Testimony that is given by a witness who relates not what he or she knows personally, but what others have said, and that is therefore dependent on the credibility of someone other than the witness. Incriminating evidence: Evidence tending to establish guilt or from which a fact trier can infer guilt. Presumptive evidence: Evidence deemed true and sufficient unless discredited by other evidence. Prima facie (prī-mә fay-shә) evidence: Evidence that will establish a fact or sustain a judgment unless contradictory evidence is produced. Probative evidence: Evidence that tends to prove or disprove a point in issue. Rebuttal evidence: Evidence offered to disprove or contradict the evidence presented by an oppos ing party. Tainted evidence: Evidence that is inadmissible because it was directly or indirectly obtained by illegal means.