When building your criminal defense, a lot of your defense team’s focus will be on the evidence. Your attorney not only must develop a catalog of evidence, but also must discover what evidence the prosecution will present in the California criminal court. Your attorney will need to find ways to deflect the prosecution’s evidence. By planing reasonable doubt, it is essential to show the evidence the prosecution presents does not prove your guilt.
In doing this, your defense team may employ many tactics to dispute the state’s evidence. One of these tactics could be claiming the evidence is inadmissible. According to Cornell Law School, this means the jury cannot consider it when making their decision. There are many reasons why evidence may not be admissible in court. Generally, your lawyer will need to object to the evidence, and the judge will rule on admissibility.
Inadmissible evidence may be something that breaks the court’s rules or the law. For example, evidence obtained illegally or that is hearsay is not admissible. If it is not directly relevant to the case, then it may also be inadmissible.
Another thing that could make evidence unusable in court is if it is prejudicial. Determining prejudice is complicated. At its core, it is evidence that is unfairly damaging to one side over the other. However, if it is relevant to prove your guilt, prejudice does not apply. Typically, this rule applies only when the evidence does not directly contribute to proving the crime, such as evidence that rather tries to evoke emotion not related to the crime.
This information is for educational purposes and is not legal advice. If you face criminal charges, get in touch with a criminal defense attorney to discuss your options.