Prima facie Prima facie Prima facie (; ) is a Latin expression meaning "on its first encounter" or "at first sight". The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of "primus" ("first") and "facies" ("face"), both in the ablative case. In modern, colloquial and conversational English, a common translation would be "on the face of it". The term "prima facie" is used in modern legal English (including both civil law and criminal law) to signify that upon initial examination, sufficient corroborating evidence appears to exist to support a case. In common law jurisdictions, "prima
Direct evidence the bullet that killed the victim both give circumstantial evidence from which the defendant’s guilt may be inferred. In direct evidence, a witness relates what he or she directly experienced. (Usually the experience is by sight or hearing, though it may come through any sense, including smell, touch or pain. "State v Famber", 358 Mo 288, 214 SW2d 40.) Direct evidence Direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion (in criminal law, an assertion of guilt or of innocence) directly, i.e., without an intervening inference. Circumstantial evidence, by contrast, consists of a fact or set of facts which, if proven,