state's evidence
11
8.3
- noun
- /steɪts ˈɛvɪdəns/
- Specialized
:
prueba de la fiscalía
- The lawyer advised her client that turning state's evidence could significantly reduce his punishment.
- turn state's evidence
Examples
-
The state's evidence will show that on or about April 1st of this year... ...Carolyn Polhemus, a deputy prosecutor in Kindle County... ...was brutally murdered.
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Charles Bowden turned state's evidence and became the first person in Irish history to be entered into the witness protection programme.
-
That I turned state's evidence?
-
"Yeah, but you know how it is when someone turns state's evidence.
Fiction book (1995) -
Archer cut him a deal for turning state's evidence.
Fiction book (1997) -
Lily is refusing to turn state's evidence against him.
Fiction book (2000) -
Turning state's evidence is about the only hope you've got now.
-
Could it be that Paulson wasn't sued or charged because Paulson is acting as state's evidence and cooperating with the SEC against Goldman...?
Blog text (20) -
After an intense six-month trial which saw longtime business partner Elaine Markinson turn state's evidence against him, president of Promethium Pharmaceuticals, Richard Rusk, was given a 15-year sentence to be served in Genesee Federal Prison.
-
To receive a lighter sentence, he decided to turn state's evidence against his accomplices.
Synonyms
791
3.2
A formal spoken or written statement given in court as evidence
How Strong
- Specialized
18
3.2
- Specialized
11
8.3
- Specialized
33
6.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
state's + evidence
A B1 learner who knows 'state' (the government/prosecution) and 'evidence' can plausibly infer the basic meaning 'evidence belonging to or presented by the state/prosecution.' However, the specialized legal nuance—that it often refers specifically to accomplice testimony given in exchange for leniency—is a narrower, conventionalized sense not fully predictable from the constituent words, so the item is not fully transparent.
Etymology
The phrase state's evidence may come from the image of a criminal turning to the government and handing over proof to the state's side as evidence. So, it means 'evidence given to the prosecution, often by an accomplice who helps the state in return for a lighter sentence'.