During a civil trial, the plaintiff introduces a crucial document to prove breach of contract. The defendant objects, claiming the document is a forgery. Who decides whether the document can be presented to the jury as evidence?
A neutral third-party expert must determine the authenticity of the document before it is presented to the jury.
The jury decides both the document's admissibility and whether it is a forgery.
The judge, after considering the legal criteria for admissibility, decides if the document can be presented as evidence.
The judge evaluates the document's credibility and determines if it should be admitted into evidence.
Determining the admissibility of evidence is a question of law, which means it falls within the judge's purview. Here, the judge decides whether the document meets the evidentiary standards to be admitted into evidence. However, assessing the credibility of the document and deciding if it is a forgery falls under the jury's responsibilities as the trier of fact. Answers that shift these responsibilities are incorrect because they misunderstand the critical division of roles. Judges assess admissibility while juries assess weight and credibility.
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