Probative Value (Legal Definition: All You Need To Know)

What does Probative Value mean?

How do you determine probative value?

What’s important to know?

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What Is Probative Value

In law, probative value is a legal term used to refer to a court’s measure of the sufficiency or relevance of a piece of evidence to prove whether a factual element is true or not.

In other words, the more a piece of evidence has probative value, the more it is useful to prove a factual point at issue.

Conversely, the less a party’s evidence has probative value, the less it can be relied on to legally prove that a factual point at issue is true.

Probative Value Definition

How do you define probative value?

The legal definition of probative value can be summed up as follows:

According to the Cornell Law Schools’ Legal Information Institute, probative value means:

Measuring Probative Value

Parties involved in a lawsuit have the burden to prove the factual basis supporting their legal claim.

When a piece of evidence is introduced in a case, the judge (or trier of fact) will assess the probative value of the evidence to determine how much this piece of evidence can impact the outcome of the case.

Although courts in different jurisdictions may have varying measures of probative value, you can expect in general that the court will consider the following:

• Inferences that can be drawn from the evidence
• Weight of the evidence and its persuasiveness 
• Reliability of the evidence 
• Other evidence introduced in the case

Evidence with a higher probative value is likely to impact the case’s final outcome.

Probative Value Meaning Takeaways 

So there you have it folks!

What is the meaning of probative value?

What constitutes probative value of evidence?

In summary, “probative value” is a term used to refer to the measure of the relevance and reliability of evidence used to prove a specific factual point.

Probative value can also refer to the admissibility of evidence in court.

The rules applicable to the admissibility of evidence are generally determined by the rules of civil procedure applicable in the jurisdiction where the lawsuit is initiated.

Now that you know what probative value means when dealing with evidence in court, good luck with your case.

Remember, this article is intended to give you general information.

If you need legal advice regarding a lawsuit you are dealing with, be sure to consult a litigation attorney or a lawyer specialized in the court rules of procedure so you can get guidance on the evidence introduced in the case and how to present it to the court.

Good luck!

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Understanding Probative Value

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