probative
Probative refers to the ability of evidence to persuade a reasonable person about a fact that is in dispute in a case.
It is helpful to distinguish probative value from relevance. Relevance is a yes or no question which simply asks if the evidence available makes a fact more or less likely to have occurred. One piece of evidence cannot be more relevant than another under rules of evidence. The evidentiary weight of evidence is instead determined by its probative value.
Probative value may be weighed against the prejudicial impact of evidence under Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which allows the court to exclude relevant evidence if the probative value of that evidence is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice or is otherwise confusing, misleading, causes undue delay, wastes time or is cumulative.
[Last reviewed in March of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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