What is the definition of relevant evidence under Rule 401?

• A. Evidence that proves the fact beyond a reasonable doubt.
• B. Evidence that only relates to the credibility of a witness.
• C. Evidence that is admissible under any rule regardless of relevance.
• D. Evidence that has any tendency to make a material fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence.

Answer: (D)

Relevance under Rule 401 means the evidence must actually help prove or disprove a fact that matters in the case. In other words, it must tend to make a material fact more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. That is exactly what the correct choice expresses: it captures that any tendency to affect the probability of a material fact makes the evidence relevant. The other ideas mix relevance with other concepts: proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is a standard of proof, not the test for relevance; focusing only on a witness’s credibility is too narrow to define relevance in general; and saying evidence is admissible under any rule regardless of relevance ignores the threshold requirement that the evidence must be relevant to be admitted at all (even relevant evidence can be excluded for other reasons under rules like 403).