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Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury:
Circumstantial evidence is evidence which tends to
prove a disputed fact
by proof of other facts. There is a simple example
of circumstantial evidence which is often used in this courthouse.
Assume that when you came into the
courthouse this morning the sun was
shining and it was a nice day. Assume further that the
courtroom blinds were
drawn and you could not look outside. As you were sitting here, someone walked in with an umbrella that was
dripping wet. Then, a few minutes
later, another person also entered with a wet umbrella.
Now, you cannot look outside of the courtroom and
you cannot see whether or
not it is raining. So you have no direct evidence of the fact that
it is raining. But on the combination of facts which I
have asked you to assume,
it would be reasonable and logical for you to conclude that it had been
raining. That is all
there is to circumstantial evidence. You infer on the basis of reason and experience and common sense from one established
fact the existence
or non-existence of some other fact.
Circumstantial evidence is of no less value than
direct evidence; the law makes no distinction between direct evidence and
circumstantial evidence but simply requires that your verdict be based on a
preponderance of all the evidence presented. During the trial you may have heard the attorneys use
the term "inference", and in their arguments they may have asked you
to infer, on the
basis of your reason, experience and common sense, from one or
more proven facts, the existence of some other facts.
An inference is not a suspicion or a guess. It is a
logical conclusion that a disputed fact exists that we reach in light
of another fact which has been shown to exist. There are times when
different inferences may be drawn from facts, whether proved by
direct or circumstantial evidence. It is for you, and you alone,
to decide what inferences you will draw.
The process of drawing inferences from facts in
evidence is not a matter of guesswork or speculation. An inference is a
deduction or conclusion which you, the jury, are permitted to draw -
but not required to draw - from the facts which have been established by
either direct or circumstantial evidence. In drawing inferences you should
exercise your common
sense.
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