Tangible Evidence

Example

In a wrongful termination lawsuit, the plaintiff seeks to admit into evidence a signed letter from the defendant in which the defendant terminated the plaintiff. This letter is tangible evidence because it is a physical object that can be touched.

Case Examples

• Seizure of tangible evidence: The Supreme Court has determined that the seizure of tangible evidence following an unlawful entry by law enforcement without a warrant can be cured the same way that intangible evidence seized without a warrant can be cured. That is, the federal agents or officers in question must present independent evidence to the judge, showing why the warrant is necessary beyond the evidence they unlawfully discovered. See Murray v. United States, 487 U.S. 533, 538, 108 S. Ct. 2529, 2534, 101 L. Ed. 2d 472 (1988). In Murray, the Petitioner, Murray, appealed his conviction for drug-related offenses to the Supreme Court. He argued that the evidence used to convict him, including the tangible evidence of bales of marijuana, was seized illegally, as the federal agents involved in the case did not have a warrant when they first entered the warehouse. In its brief to the Supreme Court, the government argued that the evidence was lawfully seized later when federal officers returned with a warrant based on evidence other than what they had found in the warehouse. Justice Scalia presented the opinion of the court that tangible evidence can be reseized so long as federal agents or officers can provide independent evidence or a reason why the warrant is valid. Justice Scalia also pointed out that the test for tangible evidence is the same as the test for intangible evidence: for a seizure to be lawful, the officers must have a legitimate warrant. To be legitimate, the warrant must be based on independent evidence.