Legal Definitions - Smoking gun

A "smoking gun" refers to a piece of evidence or a fact that provides compelling and often conclusive proof of a particular theory, accusation, or individual's involvement in an event. While it might sometimes be circumstantial, it is so strong that it leaves little doubt about the truth of the matter, often leading directly to a conviction in legal contexts or substantiating a claim in other investigations.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of a "smoking gun":

• Criminal Investigation: Imagine a case where a valuable painting has been stolen from a museum. Investigators find a security camera recording that shows a museum employee, who had access to the vault, disabling the alarm system just minutes before the theft occurred.

  This security footage acts as a "smoking gun" because it directly links the employee to the means of committing the crime (disabling the alarm) at the critical time, providing strong evidence of their involvement.

• Civil Litigation (Product Liability): A consumer sues a car manufacturer, claiming a design flaw in a specific model caused their vehicle's brakes to fail, leading to an accident. During the discovery process, the plaintiff's legal team uncovers an internal company memo from an engineer to management, explicitly warning about the exact brake design flaw months before the car model was released, and recommending a costly redesign that was ultimately rejected.

  The internal memo serves as a "smoking gun" because it provides direct proof that the manufacturer was aware of the dangerous defect but chose not to address it, significantly strengthening the consumer's claim of negligence.

• Workplace Misconduct: An employee is suspected of embezzling funds from their company. An internal audit reveals a series of unauthorized transfers from the company's main account to a personal bank account, which is later confirmed to belong to the suspect, immediately following the approval of several fraudulent invoices by that same employee.

  The direct link between the fraudulent invoice approvals and the subsequent transfers to the employee's personal account constitutes a "smoking gun," providing clear and undeniable evidence of their financial misconduct.