Classes of evidence according to form


Evidence is the means, sanctioned by the Rules of Court, of ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the truth respecting a matter of fact.

Evidence is admissible when it is relevant to the issue and is not excluded by the law of these rules. Evidence must have such a relation to the fact in issue as to induce belief in its existence or non-existence.

[1] Object evidence. Pieces of object evidence are those addressed to the senses of the court. See Section 1 of Rule 130 of the Rules of Court. Object evidence is also known as "real evidence" or "physical evidence."

Physical evidence is any material object that plays some role in the matter that gave rise to the litigation, introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding to prove a fact in issue based on the object's physical characteristics.

[2] Documentary evidence. Documentary evidence consists of writings or any material containing letters, words, numbers, figures, symbols or other modes of written expressions offered as proof of their contents. See Section 2, Rule 130.

Documentary evidence is any evidence that is, or can be, introduced at a trial in the form of documents, as distinguished from oral testimony. Documentary evidence is most widely understood to refer to writings on paper (such as an invoice, a contract or a will), but the term can also apply to any media by which information can be preserved, such as photographs; a medium that needs a mechanical device to be viewed, such as a tape recording or film; and a printed form of digital evidence, such as emails or spreadsheets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_evidence

[3] Testimonial evidence. Testimonial evidence is elicited from the mouth of a witness. It involves two levels of perception: that of the witness perceiving the event, and that of the judge evaluating the witness.

In the law, testimony is a form of evidence that is obtained from a witness who makes a solemn statement or declaration of fact. Testimony may be oral or written, and it is usually made by oath or affirmation under penalty of perjury. To be admissible in court and for maximum reliability and validity, written testimony is usually witnessed by one or more persons who swear or affirm its authenticity also under penalty of perjury. Unless a witness is testifying as an expert witness, testimony in the form of opinions or inferences is generally limited to those opinions or inferences that are rationally based on the perceptions of the witness and are helpful to a clear understanding of the witness' testimony. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testimony#Law