Cincinnati, OH asked in Criminal Law and Constitutional Law for Ohio

Q: What is the concept of overwhelming circumstantial evidence? Can it be enough for a conviction?

1 Lawyer Answer
Matthew Williams
Matthew Williams
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Cleveland, OH
  • Licensed in Ohio

A: Circumstantial evidence's value is every bit the same as the value of direct evidence. "It's only circumstantial" is a nonsense TV thing. Circumstantial evidence is often extremely powerful. Here is the example that is often given in court. You go to sleep at night and there is no snow on the ground. You wake up and there is lots of snow on the ground. You didn't see it snow (direct evidence) but based on the circumstances and your knowledge of the world, you know that it snowed. The snow on the ground is circumstantial evidence that it snowed last night.

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