competent evidence

Competent evidence is the evidence which is legally admissible . Competent evidence tends to prove the matter in dispute. For example; in a murder trial , competent evidence might include the murder weapon with the defendant's fingerprints on it.

In Elias-Clavet v. Board of Review , the Rhode Island Supreme Court defined legally competent evidence as “relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion, and means an amount more than a scintilla but less than a preponderance ”.

Compare: incompetent evidence

[Last reviewed in August of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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