Even though you do not have a legal education, a pro se plaintiff or defendant is still expected to comply with the same rules of evidence as seasoned lawyers. In federal cases, the federal rules of evidence must be followed. In state cases, state and local court rules must be followed to ensure that the judge receives relevant and reliable information.
Testimonial Evidence
One form of evidence that you may wish to present is testimonial evidence. This requires for you to call a witness to the stand before the judge or jury. Some common witnesses are the parties to the case, people who have records relevant to the case, experts who may provide an opinion about the case and lay individuals who possess some type of relevant information.
In most cases, the witness must be physically present at the case. You may request that he or she be there by giving the witness the name of the court, date and time of the hearing. You may wish to prepare your witness ahead of time by asking him or her the questions you plan to ask at trial.
However, this method does not ensure that the witness will actually appear. You may ask the court to issue a subpoena to compel the appearance of a witness. A subpoena can also require the witness to bring certain documents or evidence with him or her.
Documentary Evidence
Evidence that is provided during a court proceeding is referred to as an “exhibit.” In order to present your evidence, you must have a copy for the other party or his or her attorney. Your own copy will be provided to the court. Your documentary evidence must be able to show what it is, its origin, who produced it, why you have it and why it is relevant to your case.
Different courts have different rules about marking exhibits. The court clerk may supply you with stickers to attach to each piece of evidence. Other courts may have the clerk mark the exhibit during the proceeding.
If you have evidence that contains confidential information, such as a bank account number or social security number, you may be required to block this information.
Laying the Foundation
The next step is to present the evidence in court. You first show the exhibit to the other party by supplying one of your copies to the party or his or her attorney. You then “lay the foundation” by having your witness or you inform the court how the evidence is relevant to the case. You must lay a foundation for an exhibit before the court will admit it. This requires a particular fact or event to occur before such an item is considered evidence. These facts and events help to show which information demonstrates that the particular exhibit is reliable and can be trusted.
Authentication
You must first show that the evidence is authentic and that it is what it purports to be. In a car accident case, a picture of a car accident scene must be proved to be a true representation of the scene.
Procedure of Getting Exhibits into Evidence
You must have the exhibit marked, either as required at the beginning of the hearing or just before you present the evidence to the witness. Some courts require you to ask the judge to mark the exhibit for identification. Next, provide the other side with the copy of the evidence.
Ask to approach the witness with the exhibit. Show the exhibit to the witness and lay the foundation for the exhibit, as described earlier. Then ask the judge to admit the evidence by saying something like “I move that Plaintiff’s Exhibit A be introduced into evidence” and hand the exhibit to the judge.
Objections
The other party may object to the evidence that you present. The judge may ask you to comment on the objection. Direct your argument to the point raised by the other side and wait for a ruling on the objection. The judge determines whether to allow the exhibit or not. Once he or she makes the ruling, you can proceed. You may want to seek clarification if you are not sure whether the evidence was admitted.
Publishing
In jury cases, you may wish to have the jury be able to see the evidence that you just had admitted. For example, you may want them to see a picture that the witness just described. Ask the judge for permission to publish if you go this route.