Which of the following is NOT one of the six types of evidence?

Which of the following is NOT one of the six types of evidence?

• A. Direct
• B. Hearsay
• C. Circumstantial
• D. Physical

Answer: (B)

In evidence practice, you classify what counts as evidence by what it proves and how it helps establish facts. The common categories are direct evidence (which proves a fact without needing an inference), circumstantial evidence (which requires drawing a conclusion from circumstances), physical or real evidence (tangible objects), documentary evidence (written records), and demonstrative evidence (materials like charts or models that help explain the facts). Hearsay, on the other hand, is not a type of evidence you categorize; it is a statement made outside the courtroom offered to prove the truth of what it asserts. Because hearsay deals with admissibility—whether such statements can be admitted at all under rules of evidence—it isn’t counted as one of the evidence types. That’s why it’s not listed among the six types of evidence, even though it often arises in trials and is governed by specific exceptions.

In evidence practice, you classify what counts as evidence by what it proves and how it helps establish facts. The common categories are direct evidence (which proves a fact without needing an inference), circumstantial evidence (which requires drawing a conclusion from circumstances), physical or real evidence (tangible objects), documentary evidence (written records), and demonstrative evidence (materials like charts or models that help explain the facts). Hearsay, on the other hand, is not a type of evidence you categorize; it is a statement made outside the courtroom offered to prove the truth of what it asserts. Because hearsay deals with admissibility—whether such statements can be admitted at all under rules of evidence—it isn’t counted as one of the evidence types. That’s why it’s not listed among the six types of evidence, even though it often arises in trials and is governed by specific exceptions.