Role of Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases - Research Paper Example

23 March Evidence To what extent must the parties in civil and criminal cases disclose their evidence to the other side? A main issue in the civil and procedural law in criminal cases is the extent to which either side has to create revelation for the other. This has guided to the growth of an imposing body of jurisprudence which is both in the Strasbourg and in the United Kingdom. In any criminal actions there can be opposing interests, for instance national security or they require to defend the observers who are at risk of reprisals or to maintain the secret police techniques for examining crimes, which have to be weighed against the liberties of the accused. In certain cases it can be essential to withhold convinced evidence from the protection in order to save the basic rights of another person or to protect a significant public interest. “Disclosure is one of the most important issues in the criminal justice system and the application of proper and fair disclosure is a vital component of a fair criminal justice system” (Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure, par.1). In the criminal law there is a responsibility for taking an action in order to give the full revelation of all the applicable data in its possession. The extent of this obligation is decided by the ideas of constitutional which has its due procedure in addition to the requirements of the constitution. The criminal duty of revelation and the civil idea of detection are two totally distinct actions and they exist for various reasons. In summery cases there is no right to disclosure. What is the purpose of this? The rules under evidence should be interpreted in order to administer all proceedings in a fair manner, eliminate all unwarrantable delays and expenses, and helping the growth of evidence law by finishing and determining the fact of protecting a just determination. In a criminal case, the court can accept evidence provided that it shows someone, except the defendant as a source of the injury and the other physical evidences. The court may accept the evidence of victims provided by the defendant in order to prove the approval or if provided by the prosecutor and the evidences whose rejections it will violate are the defendant’s legal rights. “In a civil case, the court may admit evidence offered to prove a victim’s sexual behavior or sexual predisposition if its probative value substantially outweighs the danger of harm to any victim and of unfair prejudice to any party” (Federal Rules of Evidence par.3). The court may admit the evidence of a victim’s reputation only if the victim has placed it in controversy. What are the penalties for failing to do so? According to the laws with respect to disclosure of evidence, the courts have taken a strict view. It leads to the exclusion of the evidence. Even in the cases where the failure to disclose evidence was not intentional or malafide, the courts have used the rule in a strict manner. Therefore, the litigants are always well advised to reveal all the potential evidence and supplement all the needed discovery and disclosures in order to avoid the likelihood of having their evidence being excluded. “On the other hand, for litigants who have been prejudiced by their opponents’ failure to disclose, Rule 37(c) offers a remedy to offset the disadvantage of unfair surprise” (Stockholm par.2). If any person fails in giving information or identifying a witness, the person will not be allowed to make use of that witness or information in order to supply evidence on a motion, at a trial, or at a hearing until and unless the failure is proved to be harmless or justified. What is exclusionary rule? The exclusionary rule is a principle in law in the United States which comes under the Constitutional law which says that the evidence gathered and analyzed if it violates the constitutional rights of the defendant, it will be inadmissible in a court of law for a criminal prosecution. This rule was formulated by the judiciary to protect the constitutional rights of the individuals and to safeguard their liberty. This rule took birth from the fifth amendment of the constitution according to which an individual shall not be compelled to become a witness against himself in a criminal case and which also says that the individuals should not be deprived of liberty, life and property without the due procedure of law. The intention of the exclusionary rule is to protect the citizens from illegal seizures and searches. The exclusionary rule has been formulated by keeping in mind the police and the prosecutors who do not comply with the Fifth Amendment and the bill of rights while gathering evidence from the individuals who are accused of an offence. The exclusionary rule has also been applied to the infringement of the sixth amendment according to which every individual has the right to seek the help of a counsel to protect oneself. “The Exclusionary Rule prevents the government from using most evidence gathered in violation of the United States Constitution. It applies to evidence gained from an unreasonable search or seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment” (Exclusionary Rule par.1). What is its purpose? The major purpose of the exclusionary rule is to discourage the government from violating an individual’s legal rights. The exclusionary rule is planned to give a disincentive and remedy, which is a small for the criminal action in response to police and prosecutors, who criminally meet facts in abuse of the Fifth Amendment in the American constitution obliged to self incrimination. This rule also puts on to the Sixth Amendment a violation that guarantees the right to counsel. “Most states also have their own exclusionary remedies for illegally obtained evidence under their state constitutions and/or statutes, some of which predate the federal constitutional guarantees against unlawful searches and seizures and compelled self-incrimination” (The Exclusionary Rule par.4). This rule is rarely referred to as a lawful technicality for the reason that it permits defendants a protection that will not address whether the offense was really committed. This rule applies to every individual within the United States in spite of whether they are immigrants, citizens, or visitors. Is its use justified? According to the exclusionary rule, in the criminal trials, the evidence can be fully excluded if it was the result of an illegal police search regardless of how probative the evidence might be. The exclusionary rule is different from the rules of evidence in the common law. Before the formulation of the exclusionary rule, any evidence was considered to be admissible in the criminal cases when the judge finds the evidence to be relevant. The method was used in order to seize the evidence that was not considered. But after the 1980s the Supreme Court of the United States has made a limited application of the said rule. The Court has held that all the Fourth amendment violations could not be cured by using the exclusionary rule. But by the use of the exclusionary rule it has to a certain extent protect the rights of the citizens in the United States. It has safeguarded them from illegal searches and seizures and their rights have been protected by the application of the due process of law. Does it help to hinder the pursuit of truth in criminal cases? The exclusionary rule has helped in the protection of the life and liberty of the citizens in the United States. This rule has been sometimes considered as a legal technicality since it has allowed the defendants a defense which will not address whether the offence was actually committed or not. The exclusionary rule has been applied to all individuals in the United States no matter if they are immigrants, citizens or visitors. But there are certain limitations for the exclusionary rule. For example when a private person obtains evidence unlawfully, it is considered as admissible. It cannot be applied to the privacy rights of third parties because the illegal search must have violated the constitutional rights of the individual himself. When other evidences are against the defendant, he cannot take advantage of the circumstance if the police breach the rules. Is there an effective, alternative means of protecting constitutional rights? In the US the right to petition is assured by the  federal constitution’s first Amendment , that specially forbids Congress from reducing the right of the individual to appeal the Government for a restoration of complaints. Even though frequently ignored for other extra famous freedoms, and occasionally taken for granted, a lot of other civil liberties are enforceable against the government only by exercising these constitutional rights. The right to file a petition is a basic in a Constitutional Republic, for instance the U S, as a means of caring public contribution to government. Whereas the prohibition of abridgement of the right to a file petition initially referred only to the courts and federal legislature, the  integration policy  later prolonged the defense of the right to its present scope, generally federal and state legislatures and courts and the managerial branches of the federal and state  governments. Works Cited Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure. CPS Gov. UK. n.d. Web. 23 March 2013. http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/attorney_generals_guidelines_on_disclosure/ Exclusionary Rule. Cornell Institute Law School. 2013. Web. 23 March 2013. http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/exclusionary_rule Federal Rules of Evidence. Cornell Institute Law School. 1992. Web. 23 March 2013. http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_412 The Exclusionary Rule. n.d. Web. 23 March 2013. https://www.boundless.com/political-science/civil-liberties/rights-accused/exclusionary-rule/ Stockholm, L. Section of Litigation: Trial Evidence. American Bar Association. 2011. Web. 23 March 2013. http://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/committees/trialevidence/articles/summer2011-self-executing-sanctions-rule-37c.html Read More