ABSTRACT
In a criminal case, the prosecution must establish guilt by presenting evidence of every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt (see Commonwealth v. Webster, 59 Mass. (5 Cush.) 295 (1850)). Evidence consists of any matter or thing that a party submits to prove or disprove a fact. ere are three basic types of evidence: testimonial, documentary, and real. Testimonial evidence is oral evidence given by a witness. Documentary evidence refers to items that are in the form of a writing. Real evidence is an object (for example, photograph or digital image) or person presented or exhibited to the fact ¨nder.
