401 Definition of “relevant evidence”

Evidence counts as "relevant" if it helps prove or disprove something that matters to the case. The evidence does not have to fully prove a fact by itself. It just needs to make a fact more likely or less likely to be true than it would seem without that evidence.

This is a pretty low bar to clear. Even a small piece of evidence can be relevant if it adds any support, one way or the other, to a fact the case depends on. For example, if a case is about whether someone was at a certain place at a certain time, a receipt showing a purchase nearby around that time could be relevant. It does not prove where the person was, but it makes one possibility slightly more or less likely.

Courts use this rule as a first step when deciding whether to allow evidence at trial. If evidence has no connection to any fact that matters in the case, it fails this test and normally cannot be used. If it does have some connection, it usually passes this test, though other rules might still keep it out for other reasons.