Opinion ID: 1236097
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: use of circumstantial evidence to corroborate claim

Text: The Court of Appeals held that the element of objective verifiability may be satisfied by corroborating evidence such as (1) an admission by the abuser; (2) a criminal conviction; (3) documented medical history of childhood sexual abuse; (4) contemporaneous records or written statements of the abuser, such as diaries or letters; (5) photographs or recordings of the abuse; (6) an objective eyewitness's account; (7) evidence the abuser had sexually abused others; or (8) proof of a chain of facts and circumstances having sufficient probative force to produce a reasonable and probable conclusion that sexual abuse occurred. Moriarty, 334 S.C. at 171, 511 S.E.2d at 710. The Church urges the Court to strike the eighth category, arguing its inclusion effectively nullifies the requirement of corroborating evidence. We disagree. Direct evidence is the testimony of a person who asserts or claims to have actual knowledge of a fact, such as an eyewitness. Circumstantial evidence is proof of a chain of facts and circumstances indicating the existence of a fact. State v. Needs, 333 S.C. 134, 156 n. 13, 508 S.E.2d 857, 868 n. 13 (1998) (language drawn from jury instruction in criminal case). The law makes absolutely no distinction between the weight or value to be given to either direct or circumstantial evidence. Id. This Court has not distinguished between the two types of evidence in numerous cases. See, e.g., Tiller v. Nat'l Health Care Center of Sumter, 334 S.C. 333, 341, 513 S.E.2d 843, 846 (1999) (proof that workers' compensation claimant sustained an injury may be established by circumstantial or direct evidence); Holtzscheiter v. Thomson Newspapers, Inc., 332 S.C. 502, 513, 506 S.E.2d 497, 503 (1998) (directed verdict on liability in civil case is properly denied when there is any evidence, direct or circumstantial, justifying submission of issue to jury); State v. Kelsey, 331 S.C. 50, 62, 502 S.E.2d 63, 69 (1998) (in considering directed verdict motion in criminal case at trial and on appeal, evidence must be viewed in light most favorable to State, and court must find that the case was properly submitted to the jury when there is any direct evidence or any substantial circumstantial evidence reasonably tending to prove defendant's guilt); Waters v. South Carolina Land Resources Conservation Comm'n, 321 S.C. 219, 226, 467 S.E.2d 913, 917 (1996) (fact that geologist relied on circumstantial rather than direct evidence in forming his conclusions goes to the weight of the evidence, and may be relied on by administrative agency and court to support a finding of fact); Anders v. Anders, 285 S.C. 512, 515, 331 S.E.2d 340, 342 (1985) (either circumstantial or direct evidence, or a combination of the two, may be sufficient to prove adultery as grounds for a divorce); Mahaffey v. Ahl, 264 S.C. 241, 247, 214 S.E.2d 119, 122 (1975) (it is axiomatic in this State that issues of negligence and proximate cause may be resolved by direct or circumstantial evidence); First Union Nat'l Bank of South Carolina v. Soden, 333 S.C. 554, 575, 511 S.E.2d 372, 383 (Ct.App.1998) (tort of civil conspiracy may be shown by circumstantial as well as direct evidence); Bilton v. Best Western Royal Motor Lodge, 282 S.C. 634, 642, 321 S.E.2d 63, 68 (Ct.App.1984) (circumstantial evidence and inferences drawn therefrom may be relied on to support a finding of fact of an administrative agency). [6] We find no reason to draw a distinction between the use of direct or circumstantial evidence in a repressed memory case. The other examples of corroborating evidence identified above may consist of direct or circumstantial evidence. The focus in this setting is not on whether the corroborating evidence is direct or circumstantial. The focus is on whether the evidence is objectively verifiable, such that it corroborates the plaintiff's recovered memories. Accordingly, we affirm the Court of Appeals and hold that corroborating evidence may consist of the various examples, including proof of a chain of facts and circumstances having sufficient probative force to produce a reasonable and probable conclusion that sexual abuse occurred.