Rules of Evidence - Admission/Application Essay Example

Insert Introduction Some keywords such as relevant and admissible and material have been used to an extent. According to theMissouri Rules of Evidence, matters that are offered in a case must both be relevant to the issues and tend to either establish or disapprove them, but they must also be material by relating to the issues in the case. Therefore, one can understand the fact that principles such as materiality and relevance may be used interchangeably to refer to the relatability of a piece of evidence to the issues in a case.

According to Joy and McMunigal, the word admissible has not been explicitly defined. However, the word is used together with the phrase evidence, to form the phrase admissible evidence. Thus, this principle refers to evidence which is useful in helping the trier [the judge, magistrate or jury] of fact and cannot be objected to, on the account of being immaterial, irrelevant, or violating the rules against hearsay (Joy and McMunigal, 44). Choice of a Notorious Criminal Trial On a personal account or from a personal standpoint, the People of the State of California vs. O.J.

Simpson is one of the most notorious criminal trials in the US. Unlike other criminal cases such as The State vs. Jodi Arias, this case involved an African American of great renown and high social standing and two white Americans, of whom one, Nicole Brown was a beautiful celebrity. Another factor that gave the case, People of the State of California vs. O.J. Simpson greater notoriety was the media’s penchant for according the murder of white American ladies priority over people of color. The media, largely white-owned, routinely but vehemently covered the case, as if to induce public outrage over the verdict that was to be arrived at.

The NBC Today proposed its first nonfiction Instant book out of the case, while the L.A. Times gave the case its front pages for more than 300 days. It is not fortuitous that whether to allow video cameras into the courtroom or not featured among the preliminary issues Judge Ito had to determine. For this decision, Judge Ito ruled in favor of the media’s presence and was notably criticized by legal professionals for caving in to media influence and publicity. Some of the evidence that was admitted in the trial include: The 9-1-1 call that had been made and a history of Simpson’s bouts of violence against Nicole Brown.

Hair evidence which was consistent with O. J. Simpson’s hair. This was found on cap at Bundy residence and on Ronald Lyle Goldman’s shirt. Fiber evidence in form of cotton fiber. This matched the carpet found on a glove at Rockingham and also, the carpet from Bronco at the Bundy residence. Blood samples: the actual killer had spilt blood near the shoe prints at Bundy. Again, the blood that had been spilt at Bundy perfectly matched Simpson’s blood type. All the pieces of evidence presented above are circumstantial.

This is because, they do not expressly prove that Simpson was guilty of the crime: there is still room for presumption and inference in them. Substitutions for Evidence refers to replace evidence of a superior or higher nature when the law rejects inferior or secondary evidence. Personally, this is expedient to avoid the dismissal of legal cases merely on legal technicalities. Works CitedJoy, A. Peter and McMunigal, C. Kevin. “New Rules for Scientific and Exculpatory Evidence?” Criminal Justice, 23.1 (2008): 44. Print