Evidence Reviewer

Definition Of Terms

Admission - any statement of fact made by a party against his interest or unfavorable to
the conclusion for which he contends or is inconsistent with the facts alleged by him.

Best Evidence Rule - is that rule which requires the highest grade of evidence obtainable
to prove a disputed fact.

Burden Of Evidence - logical necessity on a party during a particular time of the trail to
create a prima facie case in his favor or to destroy that created against him by presenting
evidence.

Burden Of Proof/Risk of Non-Persuasion - the duty of a party to present evidence on the

facts in issue necessary to establish his claim or defense by the amount of evidence
required by law.

Character - the aggregate of the moral qualities which belong to and distinguish an
individual person.

Circumstantial Evidence - is the proof of a fact or facts from which taken either singly or
collectively, the existence or a particular fact in dispute may be inferred as a necessary or
probable consequence.

Common Reputation - is the definite opinion of the community in which the fact to be
proved is known or exists. It means the general or substantially undivided reputation, as
distinguished from a partial or qualified one, although it need not be unanimous.

Competency Of A Witness - is the legal fitness or ability of a witness to be heard on the

trial of a cause.

Competent Evidence - one that is not excluded by this Rules, a statute or the Constitution.

Compromise - is an agreement made between two or more parties as a settlement matters

in dispute.

Conclusive Evidence - the class of evidence which the law does not allow to be
contradicted.

Confession - categorical acknowledgement of guilt made by an accused in a criminal case,

without any exculpatory statement or explanation.
If the accused admits having committed the act in question but alleges a justification
therefore, the same is merely an admission.

Judicial Confession - one made before a court in which the case is pending and in the
course of legal proceedings therein and, by itself, can sustain a conviction even in capital
offenses.

Extra Judicial Confession - one made in any other place or occasion and cannot
sustain a conviction unless corroborated by evidence of the corpus delicti. This section
refers to extrajudicial confessions.

Corroborative Evidence - is additional evidence of a difference character to the same

point.

Cumulative Evidence - evidence of the same kind and to the same state of facts.

Demonstrative Evidence - is a tangible evidence that merely illustrates a matter of

importance in the litigation such as maps, diagrams, models, summaries and other
materials created especially for litigation.

Direct Evidence - that which proves the fact in dispute without the aid of any inference or
presumption.

Doctine Of Processual Presumption - absent any of the evidence or admission, the

foreign law is presumed to be the same as that in the Philippines.

Document - any substance having any matter expressed or described upon it by marks
capable of being read.
- is a deed, instrument or other duly authorized appear by which something is proved,
evidenced or set forth.

Documentary Evidence - evidence supplied by written instruments or derived from

conventional symbols, such as letters, by which ideas are represented on material
substances.

Dying Declaration - The ante mortem statements made by a person after the mortal wound
has been inflicted under the belief that the death is certain, stating the fact concerning the
cause of and the circumstances
surrounding the attack.

Equipose Rule - Where the evidence gives rise to two probabilities, one consistent with
defendants innocence, and another indicative of his guilt, that which is favorable to the
accused should be considered.

Estoppel By Deed the tenant is not permitted to deny title of his landlord at the time of
the commencement of the land-lord tenant relationship. If the title asserted is one that is
alleged to have been acquired subsequent to the commencement of that relation, the
presumption will not apply.

Estoppel In Pais - whenever a party has, by his own declaration, act, or omission,
intentionally and deliberately lead another to believe a particular thing to be true and act
upon such belief, he cannot, in any litigation arising out of such declaration, act or omission,
be permitted to falsify it.

Expert Witness - one who belongs to the profession or calling to which the subject matter
of the inquiry relates to and who possesses special knowledge on questions on which he
proposes to express an opinion.
Express Admissions - are those made in definite, certain and unequivocal language.

Extra Judicial Admissions - are those made out of court, or in a judicial proceeding other
than the one under consideration.

Fact - thing done or existing.

Facts In Issue - are those facts which the plaintiff must prove in order to establish his claim
and those facts which the defendant must prove in order to establish a defense set up by
him, but only when the fact alleged by the one party is not admitted by the other party.

Facts Relevant To The Issue - are those facts which render the probable existence or non-
existence of a fact in issue, or some other relevant fact.

Factum Probandum - the ultimate fact or the fact sought to be established.

- Refers to proposition

Factum Probans - is the evidentiary fact or the fact by which the factum probandum is to
be established. Materials which establish the proposition.

Hearsay Rule - Any evidence, whether oral or documentary is hearsay if its probative value
is not based on the personal knowledge of the witness but on the knowledge of some other
person not on the witness stand.

Impeaching Evidence - a proper foundation must be laid for the impeaching questions, by
calling attention of such party to his former statement so as to give him an opportunity to
explain before such admissions are offered in evidence.

Implied Admissions - are those which may be inferred from the acts, declarations or
omission of a party. Therefore, an admission may be implied from conduct, statement of
silence of a party.

Independent Evidence - admissions are original evidence and no foundation is necessary

for their introduction in evidence

Intermediate Ambiguity - situation where an ambiguity partakes of the nature of both

patent and latent. In this, the words are seemingly clear and with a settled meaning, is
actually equivocal and admits of two interpretations. Here, parol evidence is admissible to
clarify
the ambiguity provided that the matter is put in issue by the pleader.
Example: Dollars, tons and ounces.

Issue - is the point or points in question, at the conclusion of the pleadings which one side
affirms, and the other side denies.

Judicial Admissions - are those so made in the pleadings filed or in the progress of a trial.
 - It is one made in connection with a judicial proceeding in which it is offered,
while an extrajudicial admission is any other admission.

Judicial Notice - no more than that the court will bring to its aid and consider, without proof
of the facts, its knowledge of those matters of public concern which are known by all well-
informed persons.
- cognizance of certain facts which judges may take and act on without proof
because they are already known to them.

Material Evidence - evidence directed to prove a fact in issue as determined by the rules of
substantive law and pleadings. The test is whether the fact it intends to prove is an issue or
not. AS to whether a fact is in issue or not is in turn determined by the substantive law, the
pleadings, the pre-trial order and by the admissions or confessions on file. Consequently,
evidence may be relevant but may be immaterial in the case.

Negative Evidence - when the witness did not see or know of the occurrence of a fact.
There is a total disclaimer of persona knowledge, hence without any representation or
disavowal that the fact in question could or could not have existed or happened. It is
admissible only if it tends to contradict positive evidence of the other side or would tend to
exclude the existence of fact sworn to by the other side.

Object Evidence - is a tangible object that played some actual role on the matter that gave
rise to the litigation. For instance, a knife.

Objective or Real Evidence - directly addressed to the senses of the court and consist of
tangible things exhibited or demonstrated in open court, in an ocular inspection, or at place
designated by the court for its view or observation of an exhibition, experiment or
demonstration.
This is referred to as autoptic preference.

Omnia praesumuntur rite et solemniter esse acta donec probetur in contrarium all
things are presumed to have been done regularly and with due formality until the contrary is
proved.

Opinion - an inference or conclusion drawn from facts observed.

Ordinary Opinion Evidence - that which is given by a witness who is of ordinary capacity
and who has by opportunity acquired a particular knowledge which is outside the limits of
common observation and which may be of value in elucidating a matter under
consideration.

Parol Evidence - any evidence aliunde, whether oral or written, which is intended or tends
to vary or contradict a complete and enforceable agreement embodied in a document.

Patent or Extrinsic Ambiguity - is such ambiguity which is apparent on the face of the
writing itself and requires something to be added in order to ascertain the meaning of the
words used. In this case, parol evidence is not admissible, otherwise the court would be
creating a contract between the parties.

Pedigree - includes relationship, family genealogy, birth, marriage, death, the dates when,
and the placer where these facts occurred and the names of their relatives. It embraces
also facts of family history intimately connected with pedigree.

Positive Evidence - when the witness affirms that a fact did or did not occur. Entitled to a
greater weight since the witness represents of his personal knowledge the presence or
absence of a fact.

Presumption - An inference as to the existence or non-existence of a fact which courts are

permitted to draw from the proof of other facts.

Presumption Juris Or Of Law is a deduction which the law expressly directs to be

made from particular facts.

Presumption Hominis Or Of Fact is a deduction which reason draws from facts

proved without an express direction from the law to that effect.

Prima Facie Evidence - that which is standing alone, unexplained or uncontradicted, is

sufficient to maintain the proposition affirmed.

Primary Evidence - that which the law regards as affording the greatest certainty of the fact
in question. Also referred to as the best evidence.

Privies - those who have mutual or successive relationship to the same right of property or
subject matter, such as personal representatives, heirs, devisees, legatees, assigns,
voluntary grantee or judgment creditors or purchasers from them without notices to the fact.

Privity - mutual succession of relationship to the same rights of property.

Proof - the result or effect of evidence. When the requisite quantum of evidence of a
particular fact has been duly admitted and given weight, the result is called the proof of such
fact.

Relevant Evidence - evidence having any value in reason as tending to prove any matter
provable in an action. The test is the logical relation of the evidentiary fact to the fact in
issue, whether the former tends to establish the probability or improbability of the latter.

Res Gestae - literally means things done; it includes circumstances, facts, and declarations
incidental to the main facts or transaction necessary to illustrate its character and also
includes acts, words, or declarations which are closely connected therewith as to constitute
part of the transaction.

Rule Of Exclusion - that which is secondary evidence cannot inceptively be introduced as

the original writing itself must be produced in court, except in the four instances mentioned
in Section 3.

Secondary Evidence - that which is inferior to the primary evidence and is permitted by law
only when the best evidence is not available.
Known as the substitutionary evidence.
- shows that better or primary evidence exists as to the proof of fact in question.
It is deemed less reliable.

Self Serving Declaration - is one which has been made extrajudicially by the party to favor
his interests. It is not admissible in evidence.

Testimonial Evidence - is that which is submitted to the court through the testimony or
deposition of a witness.

Unsound Mind - any mental aberration, whether organic or functional, or induced by drugs
or hypnosis.

Witness - reference to a person who testifies in a case or gives evidence before a judicial
tribunal.