Criminal Evidence
Marjie Britz
Chapter One:
Introduction
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History of Law and Legal Process
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Law: the codification of social norms and
expectations
Evidence: the demonstration of truth or
untruth regarding allegations made within
a court of law
John Wigmore: the father of evidence law
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Identified 16 legal systems throughout history
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
History of Law and Legal Process
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Code of Hammurabi (circa 2270 B.C.): the oldest
known legal code in the world
Common law: a compilation of judge-made law;
established in England which spread to much of
the English-speaking world
Civil Law: developed during the Roman Empire
and was modernized by the French in the Ninth
Century under the direction of Napoleon
Bonaparte
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
History of Law and Legal Process
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Stare decisis: requires courts to adhere to
legal precedent, i.e. the law as decided by
the highest court within a jurisdiction
Civil law (legislative law) is composed of
law established by government entities
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Sources of Law in Am. System
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American legal system is based both upon
federal and state law
State are sovereign
No federal sovereign law
However, states may not violate rights
guaranteed to all American citizens under
the Constitution and/or the Bill of Rights
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Sources of Law in Am. System
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Little wording in the original Constitution
directly addressed criminal law and
evidence
However, the first Ten Amendments of the
Constitution (i.e. the Bill of Rights)
corrected this oversight
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Sources of Law in Am. System
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1st Amendment: freedom of speech
2nd Amendment: right to bear arms
3rd Amendment: protects homeowners from
governmental abuse
4th Amendment: no unlawful searches and
seizures
5th Amendment: right to a grand jury; freedom
from double jeopardy; freedom from selfincrimination; the right to due process; right to
just compensation (Govt. Taking)
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Sources of Law in Am. System
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6th Amendment: right of speedy and public trial;
right to impartial jury of one’s peers; right to be
informed of the charges; right to confront
witnesses; right to subpoena; right to counsel
7th Amendment: right to a trial by jury (limited
scope)
8th Amendment: no excessive bail or unusual
punishment
9th Amendment: rights outside Constitution
10th Amendment: ensures states’ rights
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Rules of Evidence
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Majority of evidence law founded upon
common law principles, e.g. relevancy,
competency, hearsay, and privileged
communications
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Rules of Evidence
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Uniform Rules of Evidence: enacted in
1974; most states have adopted to help
ensure that similar evidence rules applied
to all states; still differences exist
Federal Rules of Evidence: ensures same
application of law among federal courts
Civil law replaced common law for
evidence rules
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Rules of Evidence
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On federal level, law is also a product of
legislation established by Congress and
rulings issued by the Supreme Court
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Defining Evidence
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Evidence: means of establishing the truth
or untruth of a disputed fact
Relevant evidence: material evidence
having probative value regarding
something at issue
Material evidence: evidence which is
logically connected to a fact at issue
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008