Saturday, October 1, 2011

Text Messages and Evidentiary Procedures

California's continuing education blog talks about how an attorney gets text messages into evidence through 1) relevance, and 2) authentication.

And states the following:

"A prosecutor in Pennsylvania learned this lesson the hard way, having a drug conviction overturned because of hearsay text messages. As with all evidence, the key is authentication."

"Text messages can be authenticated under California law through:
•Direct testimony of a witness who saw the messages created or executed (Evid C §1413);
•Distinctive characteristics of the message itself (Evid C §1421); and
•Circumstantial proof of authenticity (see Evid C §1410)."

Or the text message can be self-authenticated via a reply.

As the bar examiners kept pace with the changing landscape of the law, it wouldn't be too strange to see a text message crop up in a evidence essay, now would it?

http://blog.ceb.com/

See "Evidence"

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