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Criminal procedure

admissible evidence

For evidence to be admissible in a criminal prosecution it generally must have been obtained legally—with a search warrant, or based on an exception to the search warrant requirement, such as consent to search—and be relevant and reliable.

In Connecticut, as in other states, evidence must be obtained legally to be admissible in a criminal prosecution. This means that law enforcement officers typically need to obtain a search warrant before conducting a search that would otherwise violate an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy. However, there are several exceptions to the search warrant requirement, such as when an individual gives consent to a search, when evidence is in plain view, during exigent circumstances, or when the search is incident to a lawful arrest. Additionally, for evidence to be admissible, it must be relevant to the case, meaning it must have a tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. The evidence must also be reliable, which generally means that it must be trustworthy and its integrity has not been compromised. Connecticut courts will exclude evidence that is obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as evidence that fails to meet the standards of relevance and reliability.

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Criminal procedure

admissible evidence

Individual & Family Legal Plan

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Connecticut State Code

Connecticut State Code

Criminal procedure

admissible evidence

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