A judge in a small claims court told me something I never knew about evidence...

I was in a courtroom in Springfield last week for a dispute over a $500 security deposit. I brought all my photos and texts, but the other guy had a printed email I'd forgotten about. The judge looked at me and said, 'If it's not in front of me, it didn't happen.' He meant that you have to bring a physical copy of everything, even digital stuff. I lost because I assumed showing things on my phone was enough. Now I print every single text and email before any hearing. Has anyone else gotten tripped up by a simple rule like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

hill.jade17d ago

A printed email? That seems so outdated for a modern court. You'd think showing the original on your phone would be more reliable than a paper copy. It's frustrating when the system doesn't keep up with how we actually live.

blair39616d ago

Yeah, "showing the original on your phone" sounds right until you've been the person fumbling to unlock it with a judge watching. My own tech skills would probably get the email deleted by accident. It is a system built for paper, hill.jade, so we're stuck with the printer for now.