Article IV. Relevance
Rule 401. Definition of “Relevant Evidence”
“Relevant evidence” means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.
Advisory Commission Comments
This proposal does not change Tennessee common law. The theoretical test for admissibility is a lenient one, as it should be, and practical difficulties can be resolved under Rule 403 or the exclusionary rules of legal relevancy that follow.
The materiality concept is found in the words, “any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action.” To be relevant, evidence must tend to prove a material issue.
