Self-Represented Litigants: 5 Rules for Presenting Evidence in Court

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This blog was written by a guest author, Carrie Gour. Carrie Gour and Beth Thompson are the founders of PwrSwitch, the app that documents messy communications in high-conflict divorces so judges can get the picture.
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To help increase your odds of success, here are five rules for presenting (and defending) evidence in court:

1. Social Media

If you’ve got relevant electronic “chat” evidence — text messages, Facebook or Instagram messages, WhatsApp, email, etc. — you must save and print the entire thread. This evidence can be presented as an exhibit or through your own testimony.

Use screenshots, text extractors, or PwrSwitch to document and consolidate your complete text and email conversations.

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It’s vital to include every message in a relevant chat thread (yes, including those moments you’re not so proud of). If only part of the thread is presented, it could be rejected because it looks cherry-picked or fabricated.

2. Recordings

It’s illegal to submit third-party, wire-tapping, or spyware-type recordings. They’re rightly considered a breach of privacy.

That said, 38 states in the US have a one party consent law. This means voice recordings of personal conversations are admissible as evidence as long as one of the two of you on the call knew the conversation was being recorded.

In the other 11 states, you’re required to inform the other person the call is being recorded before you can submit it as evidence.

3. Material Evidence

All evidence must be “material,” or relevant, for the court to consider it.

Evidence of your ex’s affairs or alcohol and drug use, for example, is irrelevant in the context of negotiating the division of property. On the other hand, if a judge is deciding who is best suited for primary custody of children, that kind of evidence is likely highly pertinent.

4. Other Physical Evidence

Other forms of evidentiary documentation like photographs, videos, bills, letters, bank statements, etc. are also all admissible forms of evidence that can be critical to your case.

With physical evidence, you must be able to establish a “clear chain of title.” This refers to the sequence of validated history of an object. If you’re presenting a photo as evidence, for example, you’ll need to:

5. Objecting to Evidence

If the opposing party introduces evidence you believe is harmful to your case, you might be able to have it “excluded from evidence.” When self-representing, the key to these exclusions is knowing the proper form of objection:

The key here, if it’s a matter of privilege, is to object right away. If you don’t, you could waive the privilege, and the document itself and related testimony may be admitted.

Good luck in your self-representation journey!