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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 Florida, 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 a search incident to a lawful arrest, or in exigent circumstances where there is no time to secure a warrant. Additionally, for evidence to be admissible, it must be relevant to the case, meaning it must tend to prove or disprove a material fact at issue, and it must be reliable, meaning it must be trustworthy and credible. Florida follows the exclusionary rule, which mandates that evidence obtained in violation of a defendant's constitutional rights is generally not admissible in court. This includes evidence obtained through illegal searches and seizures, which would be in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

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Criminal procedure

admissible evidence

Individual & Family Legal Plan

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Florida State Code

Florida State Code

Criminal procedure

admissible evidence

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