How can text messages be used in court

However, that has not stopped the growing use of text messages as evidence in court. Texts will likely be used as evidence if it can be demonstrated that they have a valid bearing on a family law matter. Text messages between you and the other party are generally considered to be admissible. It must be proven in court that the phone numbers receiving or sending the texts belonged to you or the other party. This can typically be easily done. Decipher TextMessage also recovers deleted iPhone text messages and iMessages , a feature that is useful for attorneys, police officers, or governmental agencies for evidence.

Click here for our guide about recovering deleted text messages. The program also supports Windows 7 and above including Windows You don't always need the iPhone to save your data with Decipher TextMessage. The software will automatically access and read in data from exisiting iTunes backups on any Windows or Mac computer. Save text messages for court Follow these steps to print and save text messages for court Backup an iPhone on your computer.

Launch Decipher TextMessage. Choose a contact whose text messages you want to save for court. Select Export to save the text messages. Open the saved PDF and choose Print to print the text messages for court, trial, or your lawyer. Here's an example of what you will see in the program: iPhone Screenshots Another way to print out your iPhone text messages is by taking screenshots of each text message screen on your device. Some of these include: Screenshots are quick and easy and free! One drawback of using the screenshot method is that it is time consuming.

If you have lots of messages you will need to screenshot each individual screen and organize the images into a text message transcript manually. If you're required to show the time on every message, you'll need to slide left on the Messages app screen to reveal each message time. It's hard to do that and press the screenshot buttons, and cuts off some of the message text. If you don't have the iPhone in your possession, there would be no way to use the screenshot method.

Video Instructions - Documenting text messages for trial or legal matters We have step-by-step instructions outlined in our helpful YouTube video which will walk you through the exact steps and directions so that you can immediately save your text messages for court, trial, or your attorney. This can be especially true when parents are communicating via text message during a pending child custody case.

Just like with the internet, any text message you send or receive can be saved and accessed at a later date. Cell phone records alone are not typically a basis for many child custody arguments. On its own, a singular text message may not make for a strong piece of evidence. Today, the best evidence rule is still strongly supported and used.

Because words are so easily misunderstood and slight differences in words can mean completely different things, the best evidence rule is considered necessary in order to guarantee accuracy. Also, the best evidence rule ensures that parts of a text or writing are not used out of context during trial, therefore making sure that the jury is able to receive a full and accurate depiction of the evidence.

In Dalton v. After the holding in Dalton , Virginia joins a growing number of states that have recognized that the best evidence rule applies to text messages.