What is the basic relevance standard under Rule 401?

What is the basic relevance standard under Rule 401?

• A. Any tendency to make a material fact more or less probable.
• B. Prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
• C. Be admissible under Rule 403.
• D. Be non-prejudicial.

Answer: (A)

Rule 401 defines relevance by asking whether the evidence has any tendency to make a material fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. A material fact is one that matters to the outcome of the case — something that could influence the verdict if proven true or false. Because the standard is intentionally broad, even a slight probative value is enough to make evidence relevant. This is separate from how convincing the evidence must be to prove the case (that’s a different standard, like beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal trials) or from Rule 403’s balancing (which weighs probative value against potential prejudice). And relevance doesn’t require the evidence to be non-prejudicial; it only needs to affect the probability of a material fact in some way.

Rule 401 defines relevance by asking whether the evidence has any tendency to make a material fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. A material fact is one that matters to the outcome of the case — something that could influence the verdict if proven true or false. Because the standard is intentionally broad, even a slight probative value is enough to make evidence relevant. This is separate from how convincing the evidence must be to prove the case (that’s a different standard, like beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal trials) or from Rule 403’s balancing (which weighs probative value against potential prejudice). And relevance doesn’t require the evidence to be non-prejudicial; it only needs to affect the probability of a material fact in some way.