Exhibits in Auto Accident Cases

Exhibits are demonstrations. They are pictures. They are graphs. They are charts. They come in a number of forms. They are powerful. Not only is a picture worth 10,000 words, it’s worth a lot more. To use an exhibit at trial, it must be authentic. Authenticity means that it is indeed what it purports to be. If you’re talking about a photograph, then you need a witness to say that the photograph in fact portrays what is shown in the photograph. That means the person saw the object or location at the relevant time. That person then needs to testify that the picture indeed portrays the condition of that location or object at the time.

Exhibits Auto Accident Cases-Demonstrative

Sometimes exhibits are referred to as being demonstrative. What that means is that the exhibit is admitted into evidence to demonstrate something. It is not admitted into evidence to necessarily show the truth of the content of the exhibit. That may seem like a fine distinction. It is. However, it is important. What it means is that the content of the exhibit is not being accepted as true. Therefore, when an exhibit is admitted as a demonstrative exhibit, the content of the exhibit may still be challenged.

An exhibit may also be met with a hearsay objection. If the exhibit has any text associated with it, those statements may be hearsay. Each of those statements must be evaluated independently.

A picture is probably not hearsay. The picture itself does not make any statement. The picture itself is simply a digital portrayal of a condition that exists at a point in time.

Exhibits Auto Accident Cases-Foundation

In order to get any exhibit into evidence, there has to be a foundation laid. That foundation consists of a witness with knowledge testifying as to the exhibit. Does the picture portray the scene of the crash at the time of the crash? Does the graph correctly state the ups and downs of market conditions? If it does as testified to by a knowledgeable person, then the foundation may have been laid.

Of course, as to any exhibit that is being used, the basic relevancy criteria must be met.

When you get into digital information, there may be specific requirements that apply in order to get those types of exhibits into evidence. Again, the basic criteria are authenticity, hearsay, relevancy.

Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more info on exhibits see the Wikipedia pages. Also see the post on this site dealing with personal injury issues.