![]() This is when you might want to look at other documenting options, like: If there are 20, 30 or more messages a day, especially if the messages aren’t especially short, taking 100 screenshots a day can start to feel onerous at best and like a full-part-time job at worst. Screenshots aren’t a great option if you’re receiving a lot of messages. Screenshots get saved in your photo folder. 30 missed called from an abusive partner? Take a screenshot of that. They’re free and they’re easy: threatening texts? Instead of responding, take a screenshot. Screenshots are the most common form of documented mobile evidence. This would capture all the source code, definitively proving where communications originated, including things like a computer’s ISP address, for instance. ![]() In cases that cross over into criminal court or in cases where opposing counsel is especially aggressive, you may have to produce a “raw data” report of your communications. Ideally this would not just be their name, but their phone number or email address, as any name can be ascribed to any number. ![]() the contact information of the other person.the time and date clearly visible in each communication that’s sent or received (note “today” at the top of each message is not sufficient) and.You need to prove that the messages you’re admitting as evidence are authentic: did they actually come from the person you say they came from? Have you deleted or edited anything? Were they received when you say they were? At a very minimum, to prove authenticity your mobile evidence must have: Whether a message is relevant is entirely dependent on the context and facts of an individual case.Ģ. This means no one will care about a message from your ex saying your son ate Pop-tarts for dinner, say, but the message could be used to prove (a) who had possession of the child that day and/or (b) if a parent is following the child’s dietary restrictions or not. In legal speak, evidence that’s relevant must be “of consequence to the determination” of the case. For that to happen, you and/or your lawyer must prove your evidence is both relevant and authentic.ġ. With all of that, like most evidence, text messages, emails and phone logs aren’t automatically admissible in court. 20 missed calls every hour on the hour between midnight and 4am for multiple nights in a row tells another story (and constituted harassment). If you can’t record phone conversations, a printout of your phone log is the next best thing: 20 phone calls from your ex between 2:00pm and 3:00pm that last a minute each, tells a story. The best case in that event is that opposing counsel paints you as a liar the worst case is that you simply lose your legal motion right there.Ĭapture every text message, every email, every Facebook messenger and ideally you’ll record every phone call too. Without them, your lawyer could be caught unawares mid-court proceeding. 20 text messages where your only response is some variation of “stop contacting me” tells a very different story than 20 messages where you’re losing your temper and counter-threatening for 20 more, for instance.Īre those angry texts embarrassing? You bet, but you still need to document them so that your lawyer can attempt a defense (“who wouldn’t lose their temper under the circumstances?”). The goal is to present as complete a “communications story” as possible. That means every communication they send you, and every response you send in return. ![]() What’s important to document, and how do you do it in a way the court will accept? Here’s the guide you’ve been looking for. To this end, you’re either in the throes of legal proceedings (as in divorce) or you’re considering it (as in abuse, cyber-stalking or criminal harassment), and you’ve either been told to document all your communications, or you know you must. Maybe it’s just constant contact about the kids, your finances or the process of divorce itself. Maybe it’s a mix of “I love you’s” and abuse. You assumed the communications would slow down then stop, but now it’s been days, weeks or months of relentless contact, and you need it to stop. ![]() If that ordeal isn’t bad enough on its own, you now find yourself on the receiving end of a torrent of text messages, emails and phone calls from them. You’ve recently (or maybe not so recently) split from your ex. This article is aimed at clients working with collaborative practitioners, therapists, or counsel who need to document all their text message and email conversations for evidence or as reference (in the case of parent coordinators, for example), a summary of what to document, and how to document so that what they’ve captured is admissible in court, if required. ![]()
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