Also known as: probandum · probata · probatio · probatum · probator · factum probandum · factum probatum · tending to prove · burden of proof · evidentiary fact
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Tending to prove or disprove a proposition. Evidence meets this standard when the proposition is more likely to be true with the evidence than without it.
Pearl Porter testifies for the prosecution. On cross-examination, defense counsel asks whether she once submitted a false insurance claim. The court permits the question because the incident tends to show her character for untruthfulness.
Piper Patel challenges a state military academy's male-only policy. The state offers statistics showing higher injury rates among women in combat training. The court weighs whether the data tends to support the claimed important objective.
Philip Powell offers a will for probate. A witness testifies that the testator signed the document in the presence of two observers. The testimony tends to establish due execution and shifts the burden to contestants.
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Paula Pierce sues two factories for combined pollution damage. One defendant introduces monitoring data showing its plant contributed only a small share of the toxins. The data tends to support apportionment of liability.
Pavel Petrov, on trial for theft, faces impeachment with a prior fraud conviction. The court admits the conviction after finding its tendency to show dishonesty outweighs prejudice to the defendant.
Progressive Healthcare is prosecuted for billing fraud. The government offers evidence of an earlier similar scheme. The court admits the evidence after determining it tends to prove intent and is not substantially outweighed by prejudice.
Evidence is probative when it tends to make a fact of consequence more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Courts apply this standard when deciding admissibility under rules such as 401, 403, 608(b), and 609.
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Rule 403 permits exclusion only when the probative value of relevant evidence is substantially outweighed by dangers such as unfair prejudice. The inquiry focuses on the strength of the tendency to prove the offered proposition relative to the identified risks.
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Yes. Under Rule 608(b), a court may allow inquiry into specific instances on cross-examination when those instances are probative of the witness's character for truthfulness or untruthfulness.
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No. Under Rule 609(a)(1)(B), a prior conviction is admissible against a defendant-witness only if its probative value outweighs its prejudicial effect to that defendant.
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…or overbroad." A physician's abortion conviction was affirmed. In Thompson , n. 2, the court observed that any issue as to the burden of proof under the exemption of Art. 1196 "is not before us." But see Veevers v. State , 172 Tex. Cr. R. 162, 168-169, 354 S. W. 2d 161, 166-167 (1962). Cf. United States v. Vuitch , 402 U. S.…