Materiality, Relevance, and Admissibility of Evidence

In determining the admissibility of evidence, the judge should determine the relevance and materiality of the information.Evidence must be both relevant and material to be admitted. In the United States, a judge presiding over a jury trial will determine the relevance and the jury will determine the materiality. In a bench trial, the judge presides as both trier of law and trier of fact. Therefore, he will determine both the relevance and the materiality of the evidence presented.

Materiality

Evidence is material if it is offered to prove or disprove a specific fact in issue. Thus, evidence is material if it relates to one of the particular elements necessary for proving or disproving a case. If evidence is not material, it the defense or prosecution may object to the use of the evidence on grounds that it would mislead the trier of fact, result in inefficient trials, and prove a distraction to the substantive issues. The exclusion of immaterial evidence is sometimes called the collateral facts rule.

Some evidence may be admissible even if it does not bear directly on an issue of fact as long as it has a relationship to the weight or credibility of evidence. Thus, when a witness testifies their credibility, perception, memory and narration or communication are all material even though they are not directly related to an issue of fact.