Legal Facts and Evidence
Legal facts are the information on which lawyers base their arguments, in order to win cases in courts of law. The evidence presented during a trial is designed to prove the facts supporting one's argument. Evidence is the key element in convincing the judge or jury that your facts are the proper ones on which to base a final decision. It is up to each side in a trial to prove, to the satisfaction of the court and through the presentation of evidence, the facts needed to support its case.[1]
The most common way in which evidence is presented in court is through oral testimony. Oral testimony occurs when a witness swears to tell the truth or be subject to the penalty of perjury, and then relates his or her experiences. Other forms of evidence such as objects from a crime scene, or a signed contract in a civil suit, can be submitted to the court as well. Concrete pieces of evidence like this are called physical evidence.[2]
Sarah Cobb describes her goals as an intervenor as helping people reframe their narratives.
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Some facts are proven with circumstantial evidence. Circumstantial evidence is "evidence that may allow a judge or jury to deduce a certain fact from other facts, which have been proven."[3] A lawyer may support an eyewitness account with evidence about the circumstances of the situation, which helps the judge or jury logically deduce or reasonably infer facts that cannot be proven directly. Fingerprints are a perfect example of circumstantial evidence. There may be no eyewitness to place an alleged burglar at the scene of a crime, but if the defendant's fingerprints were found at the scene, it can be inferred that he or she was there.[4] "Circumstantial evidence is generally admissible in court unless the connection between the fact and the inference is too weak to be of help in deciding the case. Many convictions for various crimes have rested largely on circumstantial evidence."[5]
[1] Lloyd Duhaime, "Evidence," available from http://www.duhaime.org/dictionary/dict-e.aspx
[2] Ibid.
[3] Lloyd Duhaime, "Circumstantial Evidence," available from http://www.duhaime.org/dictionary/dict-c.aspx. .
[4] Lectric Law Library, "Circumstantial Evidence," available from http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c342.htm.
[5] Ibid.
Use the following to cite this article:
Spangler, Brad. "Legal Facts." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: September 2003 <http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/Legal_Facts/>.
Sources of Additional, In-depth Information on this Topic
Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:
Online (Web) Sources
Circumstantial Evidence: Entire Case. New York State Unified Court System.
Available at: Click here for more info.
This document clearly outlines the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence and how they each relate to facts and to the outcome of a trial. The explanation also includes some good examples.
Facts are Not What Win Cases: Perceptions Do!.
Available at: http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Jun/1/127702.html.
This article discusses the importance of perceptions in a trial setting versus the importance of facts, in terms of outcomes. The author argues that facts are not necessarily as critical as how they are presented and the perceptions that judges and jurors develop of them.
Offline (Print) Sources
Anderson, Terrence and William Twining. Analysis of Evidence: How to do Things with Facts Based on Wigmore's Science of Judicial Proof. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, October 1998.
This work provides a guide for "mastering a necessary set of skills in fact analysis (the development, analysis, and marshaling of raw data): constructing, reconstructing, and criticizing arguments about disputed questions of fact; developing techniques for structuring problems and organizing masses of data; and developing techniques for detailed analysis and evaluation of particular data in the context of complex arguments" (Back cover of book).
Garner, Bryan A., ed. Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Standard Edition. St. Paul, MN: West Group, 1999.
This dictionary is the leading reference on legal terminology. Using this resource, one could learn more about the types of evidence that are used to support facts in court.
Murphy, Peter, ed. Evidence, Proof, and Facts: A Book of Sources. Oxford: Oxford University Press, May 2003.
This edited volume presents a range of essays on the concept and law of evidence in legal matters. Many of the essays go back to the philosophical underpinnings of today's U.S. legal system including essays by Aristotle, Jeremy Bentham, John Maynard Keynes, and John Locke.
Bergman, Paul and David A. Binder. Fact Investigation: From Hypothesis to Proof. Belmont, CA: West Wadsworth, April 1984.
This work "[d]escribes how facts are proved at trial, examining the principal categories of rational and psychological evidence, which is the basis of trial 'stories.' How, at trial, does each party tell a story bolstering its own legal position and detracting from that of its adversary? What attributes of stories tend to make them persuasive? From these attributes, the authors derive a set of investigatory objectives that generally apply, regardless of the nature of the case. With objectives in place, [the book] turns to the thought processes that lawyers employ to analyze and develop evidence." (Description from Amazon.com)
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Examples Illustrating this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
What Legal Case Brought Issues of Race and Class to Public Attention.
Available at: http://blackvoices.aol.com.
This article points out how legal facts were used to show that Odell Waller a sharecropper in Pittsylvania County was denied a trial by his peers in 1940.
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Audiovisual Materials on this Topic:
Offline (Print) Sources
The Secret Agent. Directed and/or Produced by: Keller, Daniel and Jackie Ochs. Green Mountain Post Films. 1983.
This film looks at the technical and legal facts associated with the "Agent Orange" class action suit. Click here for more info.
The Unquiet Death of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg . Directed and/or Produced by: Goldstein, Alvin. First Run Icarus Films. 1974.
This film documents the trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, while exploring the issues of freedom and democracy in the US. Click here for more info.
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