Investigators have to be aware of whether evidence is admissible in court or not. It is important to your story line and plot that you know what can and can't be used as evidence in a court of law. You have the power to make your characters win and lose court cases based on this information alone.
Admissible evidence is defined as being relevant, reliable, and obtained legally. Relevant means it must prove or disprove important facts in the case. Reliable means it is credible.
Basically, you can't have an illegally obtained recording, an unreliable video tape that's bad quality, or an irrelevant Facebook post as evidence. Any good lawyer would object to this evidence, but then again, does your lawyer character have to be a good lawyer? That's your call, fellow writers.
Inadmissible evidence is basically the opposite of what admissible is. It can't be used against anyone in court. Below I have listed some of the specifics of why it can be declared inadmissible (some have exceptions, so do your research on your specific circumstances):
prejudiced evidence
wastes time
misleading
hearsay (testimony outside of court)
character
expert testimony not from an expert
privileged information
What is evidence? Anything that can prove anything in court. Recordings, photos, testimony, statements, demonstrations, etc.... Keep in mind that if it is found to be illegally obtained evidence your private investigator or detective messed up, big time.
In conclusion, your private investigator or detective can throw a monkey wrench in their own case if they illegally collect their evidence (recordings without legal consent and shooting video on private property are just a few ways), so know your law and do your extra research. Check my facts, if you like. I aim to inform and arm writers with truth, so hold me accountable.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/inadmissible_evidence
https://connorreporting.com/photo-video-evidence-always-admissible-court/
https://www.justia.com/criminal/procedure/admissibility-evidence/
https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/what-is-admissible-evidence.html
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