Also known as: relevance of evidence · relevancy of evidence · relevance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Evidence having any tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence when the fact is of consequence in determining the action. Such evidence is admissible unless excluded by the Constitution, a federal statute, the Federal Rules of Evidence, or other Supreme Court rules.
After a jury acquitted Rachel Ramirez of robbing a bank because it found the masked robber was not her, the state charged her again with the same robbery using new surveillance footage. The trial court admitted the footage after finding it had a tendency to prove identity, a fact of consequence. The prosecution's good-faith belief that the first jury simply lacked all relevant evidence did not change the outcome.
Riley Rivera and Ricardo Rojas submitted a separation agreement that divided their marital property but omitted any mention of their children's support. The court reviewed the parties' financial affidavits and other relevant evidence before deciding whether the property division was unconscionable. Because the agreement's terms on property were binding absent that finding, the court enforced the division.
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Rowan Russell offered a text message from a subcontractor stating he had cut corners on rebar. The court admitted the message on the condition that Russell later introduce evidence showing the message referred to the specific collapsed balcony. Without that connecting proof the message would lack relevance to the construction-defect claim.
After Ralph Richardson died, his children disputed whether a residuary clause included a particular parcel. The court considered the will's text together with extrinsic evidence of Richardson's statements about the land. That evidence helped determine whether Richardson intended the parcel to pass under the clause.
Raphael Rivera offered an expert who concluded that a chemical exposure caused his lung disease. The district court excluded the testimony because the expert's data showed only a general association and left too great an analytical gap to the specific causation opinion. The appellate court reviewed that relevance determination for abuse of discretion.
In a felon-in-possession prosecution, the government sought to introduce the full record of the defendant's prior conviction. The defendant offered to stipulate to the felon status element. The court excluded the full record because its probative value on the only disputed fact was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.
Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make a fact more or less probable and that fact is of consequence in the action. The standard is low and does not require the evidence to prove the fact by a preponderance.
Yes. Even relevant evidence may be excluded under Rule 403 if its probative value is substantially outweighed by risks of unfair prejudice, confusion, or delay, or if another constitutional, statutory, or rule-based prohibition applies.
When relevance depends on a preliminary fact, the court may admit the evidence subject to later introduction of proof sufficient for the jury to find that fact. If the connecting proof is not supplied, the court may strike the evidence.
…guarantees of the Bill of Rights, the Court refers to the Ninth Amendment, ante , at 484. I add these words to emphasize the relevance of that Amendment to the Court's holding. The Court stated many years ago that the Due Process Clause protects those liberties that are "so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our…