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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 New Jersey, as in other states, evidence must be obtained legally to be admissible in a criminal prosecution. This means that law enforcement officers are typically required to have a valid search warrant before conducting a search and seizing evidence. However, there are exceptions to this 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 obtain a warrant. Additionally, the evidence must be relevant to the case, meaning it must have a tendency to prove or disprove a fact at issue, and it must be reliable, with a clear chain of custody and no tampering. If evidence is obtained in violation of a person's Fourth Amendment rights, it may be excluded from trial under the exclusionary rule, as established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Mapp v. Ohio. New Jersey courts adhere to these principles and will suppress evidence that is illegally obtained or otherwise 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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New-Jersey State Code

New-Jersey State Code

Criminal procedure

admissible evidence

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