Exculpatory evidence is the evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial, which clears or tends to clear the defendant of guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to prove guilt.
In many countries such as the United States, police or prosecutor are not required to disclose to the defendant any exculpatory evidence they possess before the defendant makes a plea (guilty or not guilty). Per the Brady v. Maryland decision, prosecutors have a duty to disclose exculpatory evidence even if not requested. Though it is true that the prosecution is not required to search for exculpatory evidence and must only disclose the evidence it has in its possession, custody or control, the prosecution's duty to disclose includes all information known to any member of its team, e.g., police, investigators, crime lab, etc.
In Brady v. Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court held that such a requirement follows from constitutional due process and is consistent with the prosecutor's duty to seek justice.
Read more about Exculpatory Evidence: Example
Famous quotes containing the word evidence:
“I believe that no characteristic is so distinctively human as the sense of indebtedness we feel, not necessarily for a favor received, but even for the slightest evidence of kindness; and there is nothing so boorish, savage, inhuman as to appear to be overwhelmed by a favor, let alone unworthy of it.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)