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Evidence can be any perceptible thing that tends to demonstrate, establish or disprove a fact. In addition to testimonial proof (e.g., witness testimony based on perceiving an event or based on an opinion rendered by a qualified person), evidence may be physical (data created pursuant to forensic examination, photographs, digital evidence or ballistics) or demonstrative.
Demonstrative evidence refers to an item that is not from the crime scene itself but that can illustrate (demonstrate) a concept. An example of demonstrative evidence is an anatomically correct model used to show where the victim was injured.
There are many laws, rules and cases that control the admissibility, the method of admission, the form, the weight to be given, the order of evidence presented in a trial, and the correct objections to unreliable, inappropriate evidence.
In order to be considered by the finder of fact, evidence must be relevant and admissible.
Additional Online Courses
- What Every First Responding Officer Should Know About DNA Evidence
- Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes
- DNA – A Prosecutor’s Practice Notebook
- Crime Scene and DNA Basics
- Laboratory Safety Programs
- DNA Amplification
- Population Genetics and Statistics
- Non-STR DNA Markers: SNPs, Y-STRs, LCN and mtDNA
- Firearms Examiner Training
- Forensic DNA Education for Law Enforcement Decisionmakers
- What Every Investigator and Evidence Technician Should Know About DNA Evidence
- Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court
- Law 101: Legal Guide for the Forensic Expert
- Laboratory Orientation and Testing of Body Fluids and Tissues
- DNA Extraction and Quantitation
- STR Data Analysis and Interpretation
- Communication Skills, Report Writing, and Courtroom Testimony
- Español for Law Enforcement
- Amplified DNA Product Separation for Forensic Analysts