Evidence Rule Essay Example for Free

Evidence Rule Essay The best evidence rule pertains to the rule that the evidence that is permissible on the court is that evidence which is original. It is because when copies of evidence are made, there is a possibility that the copy will be altered or tampered so copies are not the best evidence. The best evidence to be presented would be the original evidence. The best evidence rule implies that copies or unoriginal evidences be not permissible to the court. I think it is because the only thing that could prove the document and the involvement of that document would be the evidence itself. And the content cannot be compromised because it may lead to false conclusion of the proceedings. It is also called the â€Å"original writing rule† (Bergman Berman-Barrett, 2008) This will be discussed further later. However, a secondary source may be used as the evidence to be presented on a court trial if the original is not available. The original is pertained as the primary source. A primary source is that which is original and has come or created during an event. A secondary source would be those sources that resulted from the primary source. The content of a secondary source contains information or opinions regarding to the primary source (Eamon, 2004). It means that the secondary source comes only after the primary source and is just related to the source. So, a copy is not necessarily a secondary source. It may be a copy of a primary source. In a court trial, the primary source is what is usually preferred to be introduced. When it is not available, secondary source can be used, as said earlier. The best evidence rule states that as long as the original document is available, that should be produced for a court trial. A secondary source will only be admissible if the original document is not available. So when the original document is difficult to produce, it doesn’t mean that the secondary source can be used as an alternative. The lawyer should do his best to produce that original document. This is what it meant for the original writing rule. As I’ve mentioned earlier, the content of a document would be the document itself. There can be biases if secondary sources will be used in place of the original document. An example of introducing a secondary source in place of the primary source will be when a document that would prove that there really has been a contract been lost, say, in a fire. A secondary source, in a form of a testimony can be used as evidence. References: Bergman, Paul and Sara Berman-Barrett. 2007. Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare and Try a Winning Case. USA: NOLO. Eamon, Michael. 2004. Defining Primary and Secondary Resources. Library And Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 May 2009 from http://www . collectionscanada. gc. ca/education/008-3010-e. html.