Stuff to Know About Evidence

8/6/2019 Stuff to Know About Evidence

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Rule 128

Evidence is the mode and manner of proving competent fats and circumstances on which a party relies to establish

the fact in dispute in judicial proceedings. It is fundamentally a procedural law. ( judicial definition). Under the rules

of court, evidence is the means, sanctioned by these rules, of ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the truth

respecting a matter of fact.

Fact in dispute ± refers to ultimate fact, on which the party pleading relies for his claim or defense. It refers to facts

which the expected evidence will support or prove during the trial.

Factum probandum ± ultimate facts or the facts in issue or to be proved. Factum probans ± evidentiary facts, which

are necessary for the determination of the ultimate facts; they are the premises on which conclusions of ultimate

facts are based.

Kinds of Evidence:

1. Real Evidence ± knowledge acquired by the court from inspection or by direct self-perception or autopsy of the evidence. It refers to the thing or fact or material or corporate object which can be viewed or inspected

by the court, which a party may present as evidence. 2. Circumstantial Evidence ± it is evidence that indirectly proves a fact in issue.of 3. Testimonial Evidence ± It refers to oral evidence or that which testifies in court.

Other classification of evidence:

1. Relevant Evidence 2. Competent Evidence 3. Material Evidence 4. Direct Evidence 5. Positive and Negative Evidence 6. Physical Evidence

7. Evidence Aliunde 8. Rebuttal Evidence 9. Expert Evidence 10. Primary and Secondary Evidence 11. Conclusive Evidence 12. Cumulative Evidence 13. Corroborative Evidence 14. Rebuttal Evidence 15. Self-serving Evidence 16. Hearsay Evidence

Hierarchy of Evidentiary Rules

a. Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt ± required for conviction of an accused in a criminal case, means that

which is logical and inevitable result of the evidence on record of the moral certainty of the guilt of theaccused or that degree of proof, which produces conviction in an unprejudiced mind.

b. Clear and Convincing Evidence ± refers to that measure or degree of proof which will produce in the mindof the trier of facts a firm belief or conviction as to the allegations sought to be established



c. Preponderance of Evidence ± is the degree of evidence required in civil cases, which is of greater weight or

more convincing than that which is offered in opposition to it e.g greater weight of credible witness or

greater weight of evidence. d. Substantial Evidence ± is that which is required to reach a conclusion in administrative proceedings or to

establish a fact before administrative and quasi-judicial bodies or is such relevant evidence as a reasonable

mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion, and its absence is not shown by stressing that there

is contrary evidence or record.e. Prima facie evidence ± is that proof which, if unexplained or uncontradicted, is sufficient to sustain the

proposition it supports or to establish the facts, or to counterbalance the presumption of innocence to

warrant a conviction.

Rules of evidence shall not apply to the following:

1. Election Cases 2. Land Registration 3. Cadastral, naturalization and insolvency proceedings 4. Other cases not provided for.

Admissibility of Evidence:

a. Relevant or Material b. Competent

Evidence on Collateral Matters shall not be allowed, except when it tends in any reasonable degree to establish the

probability or improbability of the fact in issue e.g circumstantial facts, facts other than those facts in

issue. Evidence may be admissible for two or more purposes, and the offeror may offer it for such purpose. But hemust be certain that the evidence or document is admissible for all such purposes, for if the evidence is admissible

only for one purpose and the same is not admissible for the other purposes, the evidence is totally rejected for any

purpose.

Rule 129

Judicial Notice; when Mandatory:

1. The existence and territorial extent of states 2. The state¶s political history, forms of government and symbols of nationality 3. The law of Nations 4. The admiralty and maritime courts of the world and their seals. 5. The political constitution and history of the Philippines, the official acts of the legislative, executive and

judicial departments of the Philippines. 6. The laws of nature 7. The measure of time

8. The geographical divisions of the country

Judicial Notice; when discretionary, generally:

1. Matters which are of public knowledge 2. Those which are of unquestionable demonstration or 3. Ought to be known to judges because of their judicial functions.



Rule 130 Rules of Admissibility

Object Evidence ± are those addressed to the senses of the court. When an object is relevant to the fact in issue, it

may be exhibited to, examined or viewed by the court.

Three Sources of Evidence:

1. Circumstantial Evidence 2. Testimonial Evidence 3. Real Evidence

Autoptic Proference ± this refers to Real Evidence, which is the inspection by the court of a thing itself and its

conditions to enable the court to effectively exercise its judicial power of receiving and weighing the evidence.

Fundamentals for admissibility of sound record

Recording where admissible, are the following:

1. A showing that the recording device was capable of taking testimony 2. A showing that the operator of the device was competent 3. Establishment of authenticity and correctness of recording 4. A showing that changes, additions or deletions have not been made 5. A showing of the manner of the preservation of the recording 6. Identification of the Speakers 7. A showing that the testimony elicited was voluntarily made without any kind of inducement.

Authentication made by a witness:

1. That he personally recorded the conversation

2. That the tape played in court was the one he recorded 3. That the voices on the tape are those of the persons such as claimed to belong.

Documentary Evidence ± consist of writings or any material containing letters, words, numbers, figures, symbols or other modes of written expressions offered as proof of their contents.

1. Best Evidence Rule ± Original documents must be produced when the subject of inquiry is the contents of a

document except ±

1. When the original has been lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced in court, without bad faith on the part

of the offeror. 2. When the original is in the custody or under the control of the party against whom the evidence is offered,

and the latter fails to produce if after reasonable notice. 3. When the original consists of numerous accounts or other documents which cannot be examined in courtwithout a great loss of time and the fact sought to be established from them is only the general result of the

whole and 4. When the original is a public record in the custody of a public officer or is recorded in a public place.



Best Evidence Rule does apply in the following:

1. Where a party seeks to prove a fact independently of anything, in which case he may do so by oraltestimony.

2. Where the essential fact to be proved is neither the existence nor the contents of the writing, but the

existence of an independent fact, to which the writing is merely collateral or incidental.

3. Where what is sought to be proven is the non-existence of an entry in a record book, which may beestablished by testimonial evidence.

Parole Evidence Rule ± is a rule of evidence which states that when the terms of an agreement have been reduced to

writing, it is considered as containing all the terms agreed upon and there can be between the parties and their

successors in interest, no evidence of such terms other than the contents of the written agreement.

The rule does not apply where the document does not contain the terms of the agreement. It is also not admissible

where the document is not a contract embodying contractual obligations between parties, but relates to the

legitimacy of persons asserting status as legitimate children of a decedent.

Documents

Stuff to Know About Evidence