Legal Definitions - irrelevance

Irrelevance refers to the quality of information, evidence, or an argument that has no logical connection or bearing on the main issue or question being considered in a legal proceeding. If something is deemed irrelevant, it means it does not help to prove or disprove a fact that is important for the court to decide the case, and therefore, it should not be considered.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Contract Dispute: Imagine a lawsuit where a small business is suing a software developer for failing to deliver a custom application on time, as per their contract. During the trial, the software developer's lawyer attempts to introduce evidence showing that the small business owner frequently posts vacation photos on social media.

  This information would be considered irrelevant because whether the business owner takes vacations has no bearing on whether the software developer met the contractual deadlines or delivered the agreed-upon product. The court's focus is on the terms of the contract and the performance of the parties, not the personal leisure activities of the business owner.

• Personal Injury Claim: In a case involving a slip-and-fall accident at a grocery store, the injured customer is suing the store for negligence. The store's defense lawyer tries to present evidence that the customer received a speeding ticket five years ago in a different state.

  This prior speeding ticket would be deemed irrelevant to the current slip-and-fall case. The customer's past driving record has no connection to whether the grocery store maintained safe premises or whether the customer was injured due to the store's negligence. The court needs to focus on the conditions of the store at the time of the accident and the circumstances of the fall.

• Child Custody Hearing: During a child custody dispute between two parents, one parent's lawyer tries to introduce evidence about the other parent's favorite sports team.

  This information is entirely irrelevant to the legal question of which parent should have custody or what custody arrangement is in the best interest of the child. The court's decision will be based on factors such as the parents' ability to provide a safe and stable environment, their financial stability, their history of caregiving, and the child's needs, not their sports preferences.