Also known as: relevance · relevant · limits on relevance · FRE 401-403 · Rule 403 · probative value
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A principle that information qualifies for use in a legal proceeding only when it tends to make a fact of consequence more or less probable than it would be without the information. The principle further requires that the information satisfy any applicable limits such as privilege, proportionality, or prejudice concerns.
Ryan Roberts sued Ridgeway Partners for breach of a supply contract. Ryan sought production of five years of the defendant's internal cost ledgers. The court limited the request to the two years surrounding the disputed shipments because broader production would impose disproportionate expense relative to the amount in controversy.
The prosecution called a neighbor to testify that defendant Roberto Reyes had a reputation for violence. On cross-examination the defense asked the neighbor about a specific occasion when Reyes had intervened to stop a fight, testing the basis of the reputation opinion.
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During a sentencing hearing Judge Rosa Ruiz mentioned the defendant's recent disability diagnosis when explaining the sentence. The reference was permissible because the diagnosis bore directly on the appropriate length of supervised release.
Attorney Rita Russell learned that her client Ruby Rivera expected her to file a pleading containing statements she knew to be false. Russell consulted Rivera about the ethical limitation that prevented her from making the filing.
Agent Regina Robinson learned that a buyer was willing to pay an extra commission to close a real-estate transaction quickly. Robinson promptly informed her principal Roberto Reyes of the offer because the information directly affected the price he would receive.
Spouses Ryan Roberts and Rosa Ruiz submitted a separation agreement that awarded the marital home entirely to Rosa. The court examined the parties' relative incomes and the length of the marriage before deciding whether the property division was unconscionable.
The party must demonstrate that the evidence tends to make a fact of consequence more or less probable and that the evidence is not barred by any independent rule of exclusion.
Even relevant information may be limited if the burden or expense of production outweighs its likely benefit after considering the stakes of the case, the parties' resources, and the importance of the issues.
The court may permit such inquiry when the witness has offered reputation or opinion testimony about the person's character and the instances are relevant to testing the basis of that testimony.
…point have a marked effect upon the outcome of the litigation, the difference between the two rules would be of scant, if any, relevance to the choice of a forum. Petitioner, in choosing her forum, was not presented with a situation where application of the state rule would wholly bar recovery;[^maj-10] rather, adherence to…