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evidence reviewer definition of terms
Evidence
Evidence Reviewer

Syllabi/Table of Specification

The registered criminologist can perform the competencies under the following sub-topics:
1. Explain, use, and compare the classes, types, kinds of evidence; the rules of Admissibility, Burden of Proofs, and Presumptions 
2. Explain, familiarize, organize the procedure in the presentation of evidence; Weight and Sufficiency of Evidence.
3. DNA Evidence Rule/Electronic Evidence; Child Witness; 

Definition Of Terms

Admission - any statement of fact made by a party against his interest or unfavorable to the conclusion for which he contends or is inconsistent with the facts alleged by him.

      Related: Full Reference Material in Evidence

Best Evidence Rule - is that rule which requires the highest grade of evidence obtainable to prove a disputed fact.

Burden Of Evidence - logical necessity on a party during a particular time of the trail to create a
prima facie case in his favor or to destroy that created against him by presenting evidence.

Burden Of Proof/Risk of Non-Persuasion - the duty of a party to present evidence on the facts in issue necessary to establish his claim or defense by the amount of evidence required by law.

Character - the aggregate of the moral qualities which belong to and distinguish an individual person.

Circumstantial Evidence - is the proof of a fact or facts from which taken either singly or collectively, the existence of a particular fact in dispute may be inferred as a necessary or probable consequence.

Common Reputation - is the definite opinion of the community in which the fact to be proved is known or exists. It means the general or substantially undivided reputation, as distinguished from a partial or qualified one, although it need not be unanimous.-

Competency Of A Witness -  is the legal fitness or ability of a witness to be heard on the trial of a case.

Competent Evidence - one that is not excluded by these Rules, a statute, or the Constitution.

Compromise - is an agreement made between two or more parties as a settlement matter in dispute.

Conclusive Evidence - the class of evidence which the law does not allow to be contradicted.

Confession - categorical acknowledgment of guilt made by an accused in a criminal case, without any exculpatory statement or explanation. If the accused admits having committed the act in question but alleges a justification, therefore, the same is merely an admission.

Judicial Confession - one made before a court in which the case is pending and in the course of legal proceedings therein and, by itself, can sustain a conviction even in capital offenses.

Extra Judicial Confession - one made in any other place or occasion and cannot sustain a conviction unless corroborated by evidence of the corpus delicti. This section refers to extrajudicial confessions.

Corroborative Evidence - is additional evidence of a different character to the same point.

Cumulative Evidence - evidence of the same kind and to the same state of facts.

Demonstrative Evidence - is a piece of tangible evidence that merely illustrates a matter of importance in the litigation such as maps, diagrams, models, summaries, and other materials created especially for litigation.

Direct Evidence - that which proves the fact in dispute without the aid of any inference or presumption.

Doctrine Of Processual Presumption - absent any of the evidence or admission, the foreign law is presumed to be the same as that in the Philippines.

Document - any substance having any matter expressed or described upon it by marks capable of being read.
         - is a deed, instrument or other duly authorized appear by which something is proved, evidenced or set forth.

Documentary Evidence - evidence supplied by written instruments or derived from conventional symbols, such as letters, by which ideas are represented on material substances.

Dying Declaration - The antemortem statements made by a person after the mortal wound has been inflicted under the belief that death is certain, stating the fact concerning the cause of and the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Equipoise Rule -  Where the evidence gives rise to two probabilities, one consistent with the defendant’s innocence, and another indicative of his guilt, that which is favorable to the accused should be considered.

Estoppel - is a legal bar to alleging or denying a fact because of one's own previous actions or words to the contrary.

Estoppel By Deed –  is a doctrine that precludes individuals from arguing in court a position counter to what that person stated in a previous deed.

the tenant is not permitted to deny the title of his landlord at the time of the commencement of the landlord-tenant relationship. If the title asserted is one that is alleged to have been acquired subsequent to the commencement of that relation, the presumption will not apply.

Estoppel by deed is a doctrine that precludes individuals from arguing in court a position counter to what that person stated in a previous deed.

Estoppel In Pais - is a defense doctrine that prevents a party from using a right against another party when the right arises out of misleading actions from the person claiming the right.

- whenever a party has, by his own declaration, act, or omission, intentionally and deliberately lead another to believe a particular thing to be true and act upon such belief, he cannot, in
any litigation arising out of such declaration, act or omission, be permitted to falsify it.

The principle of estoppel in pais applies wherein one, by his acts, representations or admissions, or by his own silence when he ought to speak out, intentionally or through culpable negligence, induces another to believe certain facts to exist and such other rightfully relies and acts on such belief, so that he will be prejudiced if the former is permitted to deny the existence of such facts. 

Expert Witness - one who belongs to the profession or calling to which the subject matter of the inquiry relates to and who possesses special knowledge on questions on which he proposes to express an opinion.

Express Admissions - are those made in definite, certain, and unequivocal language.

Extra-judicial admissions - are those made out of court, or in a judicial proceeding other than the one under consideration.

Fact - thing done or existing.

Facts In Issue - are those facts which the plaintiff must prove in order to establish his claim and those facts which the defendant must prove in order to establish a defense set up by him, but only when the fact alleged by the one party is not admitted by the other party.

Facts Relevant To The Issue - are those facts which render the probable existence or non-existence of a fact in issue, or some other relevant fact.

Factum Probandum - the ultimate fact or the fact sought to be established.
- Refers to proposition
- refers to the ultimate fact to be proven, or the proposition to be established. That, which a party wants to prove to the court. E.g.: guilt or innocence; existence of a breach of contract; existence of an obligation; the fact of payment; the injury or damage incurred.

Factum Probans - is the evidentiary fact or the fact by which the factum probandum is to be established. Materials which establish the proposition.
- refers to the evidentiary facts by which the factum probandum will be proved. Examples: the written contract; the promissory note to prove the existence of an unpaid debt.

Hearsay Rule - Any evidence, whether oral or documentary is hearsay if its probative value is not based on the personal knowledge of the witness but on the knowledge of some other person not on the witness stand.

Impeaching Evidence - a proper foundation must be laid for the impeaching questions, by calling the attention of such party to his former statement so as to give him an opportunity to explain before such admissions are offered in evidence.

Implied Admissions - are those which may be inferred from the acts, declarations or omission of a party. Therefore, admission may be implied from conduct, statement of the silence of a party.

Independent Evidence - admissions are original evidence and no foundation is necessary for their introduction in evidence

Intermediate Ambiguity - a situation where an ambiguity partakes of the nature of both patent and latent. In this, the words are seemingly clear and with a settled meaning, is actually equivocal and admits of two interpretations. Here, parol evidence is admissible to clarify the ambiguity provided that the matter is put in issue by the pleader. Example: Dollars, tons and ounces.

Issue - is the point or points in question, at the conclusion of the pleadings which one side affirms, and the other side denies.

Judicial Admissions - are those so made in the pleadings filed or in the progress of a trial.
                    - It is one made in connection with a judicial proceeding in which it is offered, while an extrajudicial admission is any other admission.

Judicial Notice - cognizance of certain facts which judges may take and act on without proof because they are already known to them.

- The doctrine of judicial notice provides that a court may take cognizance of facts which are generally known, without requiring them to be proved. 

-  no more than that the court will bring to its aid and consider, without proof of the facts, its knowledge of those matters of public concern which are known by all well-informed
persons.

Material Evidence - evidence directed to prove a fact in issue as determined by the rules of substantive law and pleadings. The test is whether the fact it intends to prove is an issue or not. As to whether a fact is an issue or not is in turn determined by the substantive law, the pleadings, the pre-trial order and by the admissions or confessions on file. Consequently, evidence may be relevant but may be immaterial in the case.

Mens rea - It refers to criminal intent. The literal translation from Latin is "Guilty Mind".

Negative Evidence - when the witness did not see or know of the occurrence of a fact. There is a total disclaimer of personal knowledge, hence without any representation or disavowal that the fact in question could or could not have existed or happened. It is admissible only if it tends to contradict positive evidence of the other side or would tend to exclude the existence of fact sworn to by the other side.

Nolle prosequi - is a Latin phrase, which directly translates to “not to wish to prosecute.” Nolle prosequi is a legal notice or entry of record that the prosecutor or plaintiff has decided to abandon the prosecution or lawsuit.

Nulla poena sine lege - it is a legal principle which states that one cannot be punished for doing something that is not prohibited by law.


Object Evidence -  is a tangible object that played some actual role on the matter that gave rise to the litigation. For instance, a knife.

Objective or Real Evidence - directly addressed to the senses of the court and consist of tangible things exhibited or demonstrated in open court, in an ocular inspection, or a place designated by the court for its view or observation of an exhibition, experiment or demonstration. This is referred to as an autoptic preference.

Omnia praesumuntur rite et solemniter esse acta donec probetur in contrarium – all things are presumed to have been done regularly and with due formality until the contrary is proved.

Opinion - an inference or conclusion drawn from facts observed.

Ordinary Opinion Evidence - that which is given by a witness who is of ordinary capacity and who has by opportunity acquired a particular knowledge which is outside the limits of common observation and which may be of value in elucidating a matter under consideration.

Parol Evidence - any evidence aliunde, whether oral or written, which is intended or tends to vary or contradict a complete and enforceable agreement embodied in a document.

Patent or Extrinsic Ambiguity - is such ambiguity which is apparent on the face of the writing itself and requires something to be added in order to ascertain the meaning of the words used. In this case, parol evidence is not admissible, otherwise, the court would be creating a contract between the parties.

Pedigree - includes relationship, family genealogy, birth, marriage, death, the dates when, and the place where these facts occurred and the names of their relatives. It embraces also facts of family history intimately connected with pedigree.

Positive Evidence - when the witness affirms that a fact did or did not occur. Entitled to a greater weight since the witness represents his personal knowledge the presence or absence of a fact.

Presumption - An inference as to the existence or non-existence of a fact which courts are permitted to draw from the proof of other facts.

Presumption Juris Or Of Law – is a deduction which the law expressly directs to be made from particular facts.

Presumption Hominis Or Of Fact –  is a reasonable deduction from the facts proved without an express direction of law to that effect. 

Prima Facie Evidence - that which is standing alone, unexplained, or uncontradicted, is sufficient to maintain the proposition affirmed.

Primary Evidence - that which the law regards as affording the greatest certainty of the fact in question. Also referred to as the best evidence.

Privies - those who have a mutual or successive relationship to the same right of property or subject matter, such as “personal representatives, heirs, devisees, legatees, assigns, voluntary grantee or judgment creditors or purchasers from them without notices to the fact.

Privity - the mutual succession of relationship to the same rights of property.

Proof - the result or effect of evidence. When the requisite quantum of evidence of a particular fact has been duly admitted and given weight, the result is called the proof of such fact.

Relevant Evidence - evidence having any value in reason as tending to prove any matter provable in an action. The test is the logical relation of the evidentiary fact to the fact in issue, whether the former tends to establish the probability or improbability of the latter.

Res Gestae - literally means things done; it includes circumstances, facts, and declarations incidental to the main facts or transaction necessary to illustrate its character and also includes acts, words, or declarations which are closely connected therewith as to constitute part of the transaction.

Res Ipsa Luquitur - It is Latin and literally means the thing speaks for itself. A doctrine or rule of evidence in tort law that permits an inference or presumption that a defendant was negligent in an accident. 

Rule Of Exclusion - that which is secondary evidence cannot inceptively be introduced as the original writing itself must be produced in court, except in the four instances mentioned in Section 3.

Secondary Evidence - that which is inferior to the primary evidence and is permitted by law only when the best evidence is not available. Known as the substitutionary evidence.

- shows that better or primary evidence exists as to the proof of the fact in question. It is deemed less reliable.

Self Serving Declaration - is one which has been made extrajudicially by the party to favor his interests. It is not admissible in evidence.

Testimonial Evidence - is that which is submitted to the court through the testimony or deposition of a witness.

Tort - a wrongful act other than a breach of contract that injures another and for which the law imposes civil liability.

Unsound Mind - any mental aberration, whether organic or functional or induced by drugs or hypnosis.

Witness - a reference to a person who testifies in a case or gives evidence before a judicial tribunal.