What is evidence?
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, evidence is "something (including testimony, documents, and tangible objects) that tends to prove or disprove the existence of an alleged fact; anything presented to the senses and offered to prove the existence or nonexistence of a fact" ... "the collective mass of things, esp. testimony and exhibits, presented before a tribunal in a given dispute."
Information about the evidence that will be presented in court is shared with both sides of a court case through the process of discovery. For more on this formal process, please visit our law about discovery page.
Massachusetts Guide to Evidence
Massachusetts Guide to Evidence
Massachusetts does not have official rules of evidence though there have been efforts over the years to gather state evidence law in various documents and texts. In 1982, the Supreme Judicial Court rejected the proposed Massachusetts Rules of Evidence as a general codification of the law of evidence. The Massachusetts Evidentiary Standards were organized in a manner similar to the Federal Rules of Evidence in 1989. The Massachusetts Guide to Evidence was first published in 2008 by the Supreme Judicial Court Advisory Committee and continues to be published annually with explanatory notes and citations.
"The Supreme Judicial Court recommends the use of the Massachusetts Guide to Evidence. Our recommendation of the Massachusetts Guide to Evidence is not to be interpreted as an adoption of a set of rules of evidence, nor a predictive guide to the development of the common law of evidence." (Introduction to the Guide to Evidence)
When are the rules not applied?
- 209A Hearings
- Administrative Proceedings
- Bail Proceedings
- Bar Discipline Proceedings
- Civil Commitment Hearings for Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders
- Civil Motor Vehicle Infraction Hearings
- Grand Jury Proceedings
- Issuance of Process (Warrant, Capias, Summons)
- Juvenile First Misdemeanor Offense Dismissal (Wallace W.) Hearings
- Motion to Suppress Hearings
- Precomplaint Hearings
- Preliminary Determinations of Fact
- Pretrial Dangerousness Hearings
- Pretrial Probation Revocation Hearings Pursuant to G. L. c. 276, § 87
- Prison Disciplinary Hearings
- Probation Violation Hearings
- Right to Confront Adverse Witnesses
- Right to Present a Defense
- Restitution Hearings
- Sentencing
- Sexual Offender Registry Board Hearings
- Show Cause Hearings
- Small Claims
- Summary Contempt Proceedings
Federal rules of evidence
Federal rules of evidence for use in federal court proceedings.
Print sources
To help you prepare points of evidence for your case, here are some of the topics you might need to research and some titles at the law libraries that may help:
- Witnesses: competency, hearsay, lay testimony, expert testimony, privileges, admissions, confessions
- Documents: authentication, best evidence rule, business records, hospital records, certified copies
- Trial Issues: burden of proof, relevance, how to introduce evidence into trial (foundation requirements)
Annotated guide to Massachusetts evidence, (Mass. Practice v. 20A) West, annual.
Evidence, 3rd ed. (Mass. Practice v. 19 & 20) West, 2016 with annual supplement.
Evidentiary foundations, 13th ed., LexisNexis, 2025.
The handbook of Massachusetts evidence, Wolters Kluwer, annual.
Massachusetts evidence: A courtroom reference, MCLE, annual.
Massachusetts guide to evidence, MCLE, annual.
Includes a table of statutes, rules and references.
Massachusetts proof of cases, West, annual.
McCormick on evidence, 9th ed., Thomson Reuters, 2025.
The new Wigmore, Wolters Kluwer, 2002 with semi-annual supplements.
A practical guide to introducing evidence in Massachusetts, 6th ed., MCLE, 2024.
The pocket guide to Massachusetts evidence, MCLE, annual.
Suppression matters under Massachusetts law, Lexis-Nexis, annual. (2024 eBook available with library card)
Wigmore on evidence, 3rd ed., Wolters Kluwer, with semi-annual supplements.
Contact
Online
| Last updated: | June 23, 2025 |
|---|