Legal Definitions - admissibility

ADMISSIBILITY

The quality or state of being allowed to be entered into evidence in a hearing, trial, or other proceeding.

Admissibility refers to whether or not evidence can be presented in a legal proceeding. If evidence is deemed admissible, it can be used to help prove a case. If it is not admissible, it cannot be used.

Example 1: A lawyer wants to present a piece of evidence in court, but the judge rules that it is not admissible because it was obtained illegally.

Example 2: In a criminal trial, the prosecution wants to use a witness's testimony as evidence. The defense objects, arguing that the witness's testimony is hearsay and therefore not admissible.

Both examples illustrate the concept of admissibility. In the first example, the evidence is not admissible because it was obtained illegally. In the second example, the defense argues that the evidence (the witness's testimony) is not admissible because it is hearsay. In both cases, the admissibility of the evidence is being questioned and must be determined by the judge.