Rule 402 General Admissibility of Relevant Evidence

If evidence is relevant, it can normally be used in court. This means that as long as the evidence actually relates to the case and helps prove or disprove something at issue, a judge will typically allow it in. The only exceptions are if the Constitution, a Virgin Islands law, the evidence rules themselves, or a rule from the Virgin Islands Supreme Court says otherwise.

On the flip side, if evidence has nothing to do with the case, it cannot be used at all. Courts will not let in evidence that does not help answer the questions the case is actually about.

In simple terms, this rule sets up the basic starting point for what evidence is allowed. It says relevant evidence gets in unless there is a specific reason to keep it out, and evidence that is not relevant never gets in.