Evidence plays an important role in criminal cases, When there is enough legitimate evidence present in a case, it can help convict a suspect of a crime. When there isn’t enough evidence, the Court might return a not guilty verdict.
The four types of evidence recognized by the courts include demonstrative, real, testimonial and documentary.
Demonstrative Evidence
The first type, demonstrative, is evidence that demonstrated the testimony given by a witness. This is typically done using diagrams, maps, animations and other similar methods.
Real Evidence
Real evidence is defined as a thing, of any kind, that was present or used in the case being presented in court. Real evidence can include bloodied clothing, a mangled vehicle, a gun, a knife, money marked by anti-theft coloring and many other items.
Testimonial evidence is viewed by the court to be the simplest type of evidence. It does not require any other piece of evidence to support it or make it legitimate. Testimonial evidence is typically that of any statement made by a witness or other person during the course of the trial.
Documentary Evidence
Documentary evidence is most often considered real evidence. It is any type of evidence that helps to document the issue being discussed in the trial. For example, if the trial surrounds a breach of contract, the documentary evidence would be the actual contract that was breached.
The above are not the only ones but the basic ones.