Evidentiary Hearings: All You Need to Know

The evidentiary hearing is an important procedural event which can occur in either a criminal or civil action. It permits a court to render a determination involving a disputed matter before the jury considers evidence, or after a verdict is made in a case. This blog post aims to provide a simple answer on what an evidentiary hearing is, when one may occur, and the importance of an evidentiary hearing in the administration of justice.

Evidentiary Hearing Definition

An evidentiary hearing is a court proceeding wherein evidence and legal arguments are presented so that a judicial determination can be made regarding a matter in dispute. The disputed matter may regard evidence admissibility in the upcoming trial itself, or the disputed matter may arise after the trial and call into question the original trial’s outcome.

What is an Evidentiary Hearing for?

In either a criminal or civil proceeding, the primary purpose of an evidentiary hearing is for a judge to hear testimony, receive evidence, and listen to legal arguments from which to make a judicial determination regarding a matter in dispute. The secondary purpose is to create a record for review if an appellate court’s review regarding the disputed issue becomes necessary.

What Happens?

In either a criminal or civil pretrial evidentiary hearing, witnesses may be called to testify and/or evidence introduced followed by legal arguments made by the attorneys to the judge. The format of an evidentiary hearing is similar to that of an actual trial, except no jury is present. An evidentiary hearing is for the benefit of the judge tasked with making a legal determination. If a witness is called to testify, that witness would be subjected to cross-examination by the opposing party. In pretrial criminal cases, usually the defendant will not testify because statements made during the evidentiary hearing may subsequently become admissible during the upcoming trial.

Who is Present?

In a criminal evidentiary hearing, the defendant will usually be present with counsel. Attorneys representing the State or Federal Government will also be present. During a civil evidentiary hearing, attorneys representing each party will be present. Their respective client’s presence may, or may not, be required. Any witness scheduled to offer testimony will also be in attendance. However, any witness which will be offering testimony will likely wait outside the courtroom until called upon to testify. After giving their testimony, they would be permitted to remain in the courtroom.

Evidentiary Hearing in a Criminal Case

A pretrial evidentiary hearing in a criminal case may occur for various reasons including: Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues, Fifth Amendment issues related to the voluntariness of statements or confessions, or anticipated evidence admissibility issues in the forthcoming trial.

A post-conviction evidentiary hearing may be required for various reasons including: new evidence became known which wasn’t available at the time of trial, constitutional errors are discovered after a conviction, witness recantation, trial counsel’s performance was deficient by the standards set forth within Strickland v. Washington, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (1984), or changes have occurred in the law which would alter the trial’s outcome or the sentence imposed on the convicted defendant.

Evidentiary Hearing in a Civil Case

A pretrial evidentiary hearing in a civil case occurs primarily to challenge the relevance, admissibility or reliability of evidence anticipated to be introduced during the trial itself.

A post-judgment evidentiary hearing may be required for various reasons, but most often includes: new evidence becomes known which wasn’t available at the time of trial, or it was discovered that some type of fraud has occurred. It could also occur when one party is accused of contempt or not adhering to a stipulated agreement or consent decree.

What Happens After?

After either a criminal or civil evidentiary hearing, a judicial determination will be made regarding the issue(s) in dispute. Depending on the issue, the loosing party may be able to immediately appeal the judge’s decision to a higher appellate court for review.

Preparing for the Evidentiary Hearing

To be entitled to an evidentiary hearing, there must be a motion filed with the court which challenges the admissibility of evidence, notifies the court of new evidence, describes a change in law, challenges the reliability of the original trial, or something similar. Examples of such motions could include: a motion in limine, a motion to suppress, a motion for a new trial, or a petition seeking post-conviction relief. If the motion or petition presents a viable argument, the court will then schedule an evidentiary hearing to delve further into the raised issue.

Knowing and understanding which issues should be presented in a motion or petition is crucial. Our books, The Colossal Book of Criminal Citations and The Colossal Book of Civil Citations guide readers on the path to finding and presenting arguments to achieve an evidentiary hearing in either a criminal case or a 42 U.S.C. §1983 civil lawsuit.

My Final Thoughts

The evidentiary hearing is an important event in both criminal and civil cases. The evidentiary hearing ensures that only admissible and relevant evidence is introduced during the trial itself. The evidentiary hearing also ensures that after the verdict, justice is still available to correct errors within the original trial.

If you enjoyed this post but want more detailed information, check out our other posts related to evidentiary hearings: