state of the evidence

15:48 Sep 30, 2014
English to Spanish translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law (general) / Jury instructions
English term or phrase: state of the evidence
Hello,

I'm trying to translate state of the evidence. I'm not 100% sure of its meaning in English, but I imagine (through the context) that it has to do with the state the evidence is in. In other words, is the evidence reliable, is the evidence correct, will people believe it, is it intact and not broken or dirty, etc.? That's what I imagine "state of the evidence" means. Am I correct? If so, would a literal translation work here?

Original: In deciding whether or not to testify, the defendant may choose to rely on the state of the evidence and upon the failure, if any of the People to prove beyond a reasonable doubt every essential element of the charge against him.

Translation: Al decidir si declarar o no, el acusado puede depender del/recurrir al "estado de la prueba"...
Greg Cheers Sykes
United States
Local time: 07:22


Summary of answers provided
5 +1condición de las pruebas
Henry Hinds
4estado/calidad de la prueba
Sandro Tomasi
4(la situación de) las pruebas
Teresa Galarza
4existencia de pruebas
Susana E. Cano Méndez


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
condición de las pruebas


Explanation:
"Pruebas" en plural generalmente.

Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 05:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 1397

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Teresa Galarza
36 mins
  -> Gracias, Teresa.
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14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
estado/calidad de la prueba


Explanation:
State of the evidence refers, colloquially, to how good the evidence is against someone. By that point, the defense has some idea, through discovery, of the evidence that the prosecutor has and how good it is for trial purposes.

“Prueba” may be used for both singular and plural forms.

Sandro Tomasi
Local time: 07:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 384
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
(la situación de) las pruebas


Explanation:
En esta frase el problema es "state of". Como en "state of the art", se hace raro traducir "state of the evidence" a "estado de", que es lo que se encuentra en una búsqueda rápida en traducciones ya existentes. Pero yo no usaría la palabra "estado" porque junto a "evidencia" o "pruebas" puede implicar algo muy diferente (!). Mejor traducir por simplemente "pruebas" o "evidencia" o como mucho utilizar "la situación de las pruebas/evidencia".

Teresa Galarza
Spain
Local time: 12:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in CatalanCatalan, Native in SpanishSpanish
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21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
existencia de pruebas


Explanation:
Colllins: state = 3. any mode of existence.

Para decidir si testificar o no, el acusado puede optar por depender de la existencia de pruebas, y, en caso de insuficiencia de las mismas (...).

Wordreference: failure of evidence or of proof = incapacidad de probar los hechos, insuficiencia de la prueba.




Susana E. Cano Méndez
Spain
Local time: 12:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in category: 100
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