Federal and state courts have rules to determine what evidence will be admitted at civil and criminal trials. These rules of evidence generally provide that all evidence that is relevant is admissible. Relevant evidence is evidence that tends to prove or disprove the factual matter being considered by the court.

The rules relating to privileges and hearsay, which are covered below, are special rules of evidence that control the admissibility of certain types of evidence. The rules relating to judicial notice and presumptions, which also are discussed below, are exceptions to the general rule that evidence must be introduced in order to prove a fact.

Privileges

There are varying numbers of evidentiary privileges in federal and state law. Such privileges generally include relationships of attorney-client, priest or clergyman-penitent, doctor-patient, husband-wife, and psychotherapist-patient, and, in some jurisdictions, include an accountant-client privilege or a journalist's privilege. The privilege means that confidential communications (oral or written) made by a person within a protected relationship, such as the ones listed, do not have to be revealed in a lawsuit. For example, a client can refuse to disclose (and can prevent his or her attorney from disclosing) information given in confidence to the attorney and any legal advice received from the attorney.

There is also a constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. A person does not have to reveal information that might be used against the person in a criminal prosecution. The person who is being protected can waive the privilege.

Rule Against Hearsay and Its Exceptions

As a general rule, a statement made by a person out of court, which is being offered by another person in court to prove the truth of the statement, is hearsay and will not be admitted by the judge. Such statements are considered unreliable because they are secondhand information.

There are numerous exceptions to the general rule that hearsay evidence is not admissible. The following are exceptions to the rule against hearsay: dying declarations, declarations against interest, business records, spontaneous statements, certain public records, and prior testimony from a trial or deposition. Thus, a statement made by a person who is dying or believes that he or she is dying (dying declaration) is admissible even though it was made out of court. Also, a statement made by a person during a startling event (spontaneous statement) is admissible because there is a greater likelihood that a statement made by a person under stress is true.

Judicial Notice

A judge will take judicial notice of facts that are common knowledge or are capable of being verified by using readily available references. The facts are taken to be true, and proof of the facts is unnecessary. For example, a judge may take judicial notice of the number of townships in the State of Ohio.

Presumptions

A presumption means that a fact is assumed to be true. One of the most well-known presumptions is the presumption of innocence. A person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Presumptions can be either conclusive or rebuttable. A conclusive presumption means that the law will not permit the fact to be disproved. For example, there is a conclusive presumption that the register of titles is the final proof about the title to land. Rebuttable presumptions are presumptions that can be disproved. Examples of rebuttable presumptions are the presumption that a marriage is valid or the presumption that the possessor of an object is its owner.

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