Considering Cases Concerning to Gathering Information, Types of Assignment

Considering Cases Concerning to Gathering Information, Types of Evidence - Assignment Example The written contract or will upon which an action is based is real evidence both to prove its terms and that it was executed by the defendant. If it is written in a faltering and shaky hand, it may also be relevant to show that the writer was under duress at the time of its execution. The bloody clothes, the murder weapon, a crumpled automobile, the scene of an accident—all are samples of what may be considered to be real evidence. To be admissible, real evidence, like all evidence, must be relevant, material, and competent. Establishing these three basic prerequisites is called laying a foundation. The relevance and materiality of real evidence are usually obvious. Its competence is established by showing that it really is what it is supposed to be. Proving that real or other evidence is what it purports to be is called authentication. Tex. Evid. Code  §401; Fed. Rules Evid.  §901. Real evidence may be authenticated in three ways--by identification of a unique object, by identification of an object that has been made unique, and by establishing a chain of custody. You only have to be able to use one of these ways, though it is prudent to prepare to use an alternate method in case the court is not satisfied with the one you have chosen. Tex. Evid. Code  §301; Fed. Rules Evid.  §Ã‚ §901, 902, 903.