Rules of Evidence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rules of Evidence - Assignment Example ‘if it is offered to prove a fact that is at issue in the case.’(DiCarlo 2008) For evidence to be considered admissible it has ‘to show motive, plan, intent, or lack of mistake or, in federal court, to impeach a witnesss credibility (DiCarlo 2008). In the recent case against a man named Duena who is currently facing the death sentence after denied appeals he had been charged with killing police officer 1n 1997 .The evidence presented can be said to be both circumstantial and direct. Circumstantial evidence needs to be further interfered with so as to connect it to the actual crime. Some of the circumstantial evidence presented in this case is the murder weapon with Duena’s finger prints on it, another circumstantial piece of evidence in this case is the use of computer animation to illustrate that this crime was actually predetermined. It has also been determined that he was at the scene of the crime when the police officer was shot dead (Ansari 2012) According to Californian law substitutions of evidence are the alternatives to normal contemporary evidence provided in court to show prove that a crime was committed. These are useful to the court when circumstantial and direct evidence are both unavailable. The prosecution or defence is allowed to use substitutions of evidence when presenting factual information that is well known by the general public and can prove their arguments. Another substitute to evidence is when alluding to the testimony of an expected witness. Jury selection is the method of choosing individuals who will serve in a judicial trial. This procedure involves the participation of both the prosecution and the defence and the whole process is overseen by the judge on the particular case. Suitable group of jury members are presented before the prosecution and the defence in the presence of a judge, these potential jurors are each asked questions related to the case .This ensures there is no bias or personal affiliation with the case