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Civil Articles

Evidence – The Heart of Any Lawsuit

Before filing a lawsuit a party should be sure to analyze and consider the evidence. Evidence – or the facts of the case – is the heart of any lawsuit. The facts will control how the law applies and whether the law, when applied, should call for a certain result.

When organizing the facts and the documents before meeting with your attorney for the first time take the time to call the lawyer to obtain his insight into what evidence is relevant and what evidence is not to your issues. In pre-lawsuit discussions it is wise to consider all available facts with your legal counsel before discounting a set of facts as non-important.

Evidence can be direct, non-direct and circumstantial. Direct evidence of a thing is the best evidence, but non-direct and circumstantial evidence when presented properly can also be persuasive. Keep in mind to that whether evidence is admissible at trial or in court is based upon the rules of evidence. So, what may appear as good evidence outside of court may, in fact, be unusable since it does meet the rules of evidence.

In the end, be sure to carefully review the evidence before proceeding with a lawsuit. Good evidence usually means a good result versus a bad result because of a lack of evidence or a lack of probative evidence.