17 Feb
2003
17 Feb
'03
5:03 p.m.
Where is your
proof? Circumstantial evidence is not proof.
Well, if you're in court it is. Here is the standard jury instruction
on circumstantial evidence in criminal trials in the U.S.:
"Evidence may be direct or circumstantial. Direct evidence is direct
proof of a fact, such as testimony of an eyewitness. Circumstantial
evidence is indirect evidence, that is, proof of a chain of facts from
which you could find that another fact exists, even though it has not
been proved directly. You are to consider both kinds of evidence. The
law permits you to give equal weight to both, but it is for you to
decide how much weight to give to any evidence."