{"id":1911,"date":"2015-12-12T09:54:07","date_gmt":"2015-12-12T14:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1911"},"modified":"2015-11-24T09:55:27","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T14:55:27","slug":"i-have-evidence-on-my-phone-can-i-use-it-in-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1911","title":{"rendered":"I have evidence on my phone? Can I use it in court?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In today’s world, much of our communication with one another takes place in the form of emails, text messages, posts to social media sites, and voice mail messages.\u00a0 Often, the contents of these electronic forms of communication are critical pieces of evidence in NJ family court proceedings, particularly domestic violence trials.<\/p>\n

What happens at final hearing when a party seeks to introduce texts, e-mails, social media messages, or audio\/visual evidence directly from his or her cell phone?\u00a0 In a recent decision by Judge Jones, he offered constructive guidance on this isuses.<\/p>\n

\"cell<\/a>

cell phone evidence<\/p><\/div>\n

First, when a litigant attempts to offer into evidence images on a cell phone screen, it is difficult to preserve that evidence in the court’s file\u00a0for the record.<\/p>\n

Second, a\u00a0 cell phone has a small screen. Consequently, only small portions of documents may be viewed at one time and it is difficult to view the entire exchange in its proper context. A\u00a0judge\u00a0trying to read lengthy information on a cell phone screen might have to continuously scroll upward or downward to see the entire conversation. It may be very difficult for a judicial fact finder to analyze and consider the totality of a document which can only be seen in tiny partial fragments at a time. Moreover, it can be equally challenging for the court to view and compare messages, emails and texts side by side when cell phone screen has no room to accommodate same. If a party is attempting to introduce a thread of ongoing text messages or emails from a lengthy electronic dialogue between the parties, the process of scrolling can be even more time-consuming and cumbersome.<\/p>\n

Third,\u00a0 it is extremely impractical for the court and both parties to all view evidence on al cell phone at the same time, as compared to viewing duplicate hard copy printouts of the same document. Without such copies available, a party\u2019s cell phone may actually have to be passed around in triangular fashion between the plaintiff, the defendant, and the court. This process may then have to repeat itself for viewing each and every document, or different portions of the same document, constituting a procedure which is almost certain to significantly slow down the trial itself. As obstructive and unnecessarily time consuming as a repetitious, pass-around-the-phone process can be, the procedure is particularly challenging in domestic violence final hearing, where there is already a temporary restraining order (TRO) in place, and where the parties cannot physically sit or stand next to each other to jointly view the tiny cell phone screen at the same time. In fact, a sheriff\u2019s officer might literally have to sit in the middle of the parties\u2019 respective tables and pass the cell phone between them and the judge for viewing by each party and by the court. Additionally, if multiple individuals are handling the device, there is an increased risk of accidental destruction of evidence.<\/p>\n

Fourth, if a party orally reads a text or email into record, and if the other party and the court have no available hard copies from which to simultaneously read and follow along, there is no guarantee that oral recitation is accurate. The process of reading messages onto the record can be\u00a0 time-consuming and confusing if there are multiple lengthy texts and emails between the parties from various past relevant dates and times. There is also the reality that messages may not be in English and therefore a translator would be required to assure of accuracy.<\/p>\n

Fifth, as regarding voice mail evidence stored on cell phones, it is often difficult to hear the exact words of an audio recording after only one review, and may require more attempts.<\/p>\n

Sixth, if after the close of testimony, the court wishes to again review all electronic cell phone evidence as part of process of judicial deliberation before rendering a decision, the court is practically unable to do so without the benefit of hardcopy forms of such evidence.<\/p>\n

While the above-referenced challenges may at times be significant, they can potentially be mitigated if a litigant is advised in advance that if he or she wishes to introduce cell phone evidence in the hearing, such evidence should optimally be made available in tangible oan organized, duplicate hard copy form for potential use at trial, as follows:
\nCell Phone Evidence<\/u>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hardcopy Form<\/u><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Emails and Texts\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 printed on paper<\/li>\n
  2. Social media messages \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 printed on paper<\/li>\n
  3. Photographs\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 printed on paper<\/li>\n
  4. Audio Recording \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 duplicated on C.D. or cassette<\/li>\n
  5. Video Recording \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 duplicated on DVD<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In today’s world, much of our communication with one another takes place in the form of emails, text messages, posts to social media sites, and voice mail messages.\u00a0 Often, the contents of these electronic forms of communication are critical pieces … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-durstfirm-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6omM8-uP","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1198,"url":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=1198","url_meta":{"origin":1911,"position":0},"title":"What do I need to prove in order to get a restraining order?","author":"Sandy Durst","date":"October 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In order to obtain a domestic violence restraining order under NJ law, the alleged victim must show (1) that the offending party had the intent to commit the underlying act, and (2) that the issuance of a restraining order is necessary for ongoing protection.\u00a0 If the court does not make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Durst Firm News"","block_context":{"text":"Durst Firm News","link":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3050,"url":"https:\/\/thedurstfirm.com\/?p=3050","url_meta":{"origin":1911,"position":1},"title":"Can we talk? 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