By Jennifer de Lyon Stralka
With approximately 2.5 billion text messages being sent back and forth across the United States each day, it is no surprise that text messages are being used as evidence in divorce and child custody cases.
It is important to keep in mind that in family law cases, if the content of the text messages are deemed relevant by the court, they will most likely be admitted into evidence.
For example, if you are the recipient of threatening text messages from your spouse, your divorce lawyer can seek to admit such evidence against her – if relevance is not called into question – by establishing through trial testimony that the text messages were received by the intended party (i.e., you) and are true and accurate copies that have not been altered.
This is usually accomplished through admitting the cell phone that sent the text messages in order to establish that it is the instrument that actually sent the messages, and also having the owner of the cell phone testify (i.e. your spouse) that it is her phone, that she recognizes the number from the text messages, and that she was the one who sent you the text messages.
Divorce Advice For Men:
In addition, your mens divorce attorney can also have you testify that you recognize the cell phone as being that of your spouse, that the number is her number and that you recognize it as same, that you received the text messages, that they are text messages that she specifically sent to you given their content (especially if she denies having sent the emails, content is important), and that the messages have not been altered in any way.
If the opposing party’s cell phone is not available, your attorney can, in the alternative, admit your cell phone into evidence as being the one that received the messages, and then derive her line of questioning similar to that mentioned herein.
In the event that you sent text messages to your spouse that she is attempting to use against you, the inquiry would basically be the same.
Altogether, it is clear that the above certainly depends upon who sent the text messages, what they said, and why they are being used as evidence in a given case.
Contact the divorce lawyers for men at Cordell & Cordell for more information on admissible text message evidence in your jurisdiction.
To arrange an initial consultation to discuss divorce rights for men with a Cordell & Cordell attorney, including St. Louis Divorce Lawyer Jennifer de Lyon Stralka, please contact Cordell & Cordell Law Firm.
Text messages as court evidence
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