What Does It Mean for Something to Be Entered into Evidence?
Believe it or not, you can’t just show up to court with a boatload of evidence to prove all of spouse’s misdeeds over the past decade and demand that the judge factor that evidence into his or her decision. Instead, evidence must meet certain standards before it is discussed in court—especially if there’s a jury trial, which is almost never the case in family law situations. Even if a jury is not involved in your case, a judge will still have to decide which evidence will be presented in court. Sometimes, a judge may decide that the evidence you’ve brought is not going to be considered by the court. This can be frustrating; therefore, it’s important to have an attorney who can help ensure that the evidence you’ve collected is able to be entered and considered during the divorce process. Evidence is governed by your state’s rules of evidence and rules of civil procedure. If you do not follow these rules, the chances that your evidence will be considered in the judge’s decision are low.
Is It Relevant?
For the most part, courts only want to consider evidence that is relevant to the issue that you and your spouse cannot reach an agreement upon. If you’re going to court over who gets the family heirlooms, your spouse’s official diagnosis for narcissistic personality disorder is not going to be relevant, as mental health diagnoses generally do not directly affect the division of assets. There may be evidence that you’d like to have addressed in court. However, if your attorney has concerns about whether or not this evidence is really relevant, it may be a good idea to take your attorney’s concerns seriously: if your attorney does not feel as though the evidence is relevant to the case, you may waste additional resources in an attempt to get the evidence entered.
How Was It Obtained?
Courts care about how the evidence was obtained, especially if you have violated the law to obtain the evidence. For example, if you break the law in order to get evidence to prove your spouse was cheating—say you hacked into your spouse’s email account to get proof—your attorney will likely decide not to use that evidence because you committed a crime in order to get the evidence in the first place. Another problem with obtaining evidence—though not particularly relevant to family law—has to do with the method in which the evidence was collected. If evidence was collected improperly—for example, investigators handled evidence in a murder case without wearing gloves, potentially causing contamination—that could cause the evidence to be withheld. Your attorney should be able to tell you if they foresee any problems with the way your evidence was obtained.
Is It More Prejudicial than Probative?
Evidence that is presented in court cannot be overly prejudicial, meaning that it’s from a reputable source. If you’re attempting to present a lot of evidence solely for the purpose of making your spouse look bad, that evidence may be considered to be more prejudicial than probative. However, it should be understood that the goal of family law court generally is to make yourself look as good as possible in order to convince the judge that s/he should rule in your favor. Sometimes
Hearsay
If you’ve ever seen Judge Judy, you’ve probably heard her cut off a guest and snap, “Don’t tell me what he said; he isn’t here!” She’s cutting the person off because she doesn’t want them to say something that would be considered to be hearsay. In court, you can’t quote someone as evidence to attempt to prove what you’re trying to get across if the person you’re quoting isn’t present. For example, you wouldn’t be able to say, “The doctor told me that our child absolutely needs the operation, or our child will die” if the doctor isn’t currently present. Before you go to court, you need to be aware that you cannot quote someone else to prove your point if they aren’t there. If this is a concern for you, you will need to speak with your attorney before going to court. While there are a couple of exceptions to this, you generally cannot quote someone—even someone who wouldn’t be considered to be an expert—if they aren’t present at the time.
When You Have Questions about Evidence
Evidence is a very technical area of the law. If you have questions about evidence, you may want to speak to an attorney who can thoroughly answer all of your questions and help you understand how evidence can impact your case. If you’re going through a divorce and you need legal advice, contact CoilLaw today for your initial consultation.
