Legal Help
 

Are chat conversation (via IM) used in court? Can they be consider evidence or not, since anyone can log on anyone's screen name?

can u post the im message? and yes... it could certainly be used

Sure why not.
Well may be harder to use in a criminal case but civil I see no issues and small claims would fall into a hell yes.

No.. actually it is over a couple months. I think. Not really sure. Anyway, could you argue the fact that it was not you?

And just so I don't get any questions. No, I am not talking about a friend or asking for a friend of a friend of a cousin of a sister of a mother. Yes I am talking about myself.

Bump for a interesting question.

Well most likely it would be a criminal case.. Civil I'm not worried about. They are cheap people anyway so no matter what they will ask for money.

if it's divorce... it will be into evidence like cookie dough in betty crocker

Nope.. not a divorce.

Basically, someone does not like me. That someone got access to a computer of someone I talk to, and looked at the IM logs and found out they could get me in trouble.

If of course.. I sent it..

Were you trying to sell something online you should not be selling.

Im pretty sure instant messages can NOT be used unless the other person admits to them. Since they can be faked, or someone else sign in under their name, etc.

but id ask an attorney :thumbsup

Just saw this post... sounds like maybe some type of affair. Yes it can be used and the better attorney's always win. It doesn't matter when it get's to court who's wrong or right... it's always about the money

Nope. Completely legal.

Tell that to judge judy, brown, mathis, and that peoples court chicka. Thats were all the smart arm chair lawyers get their skills at. The other judges just be paternity hoes.

Well money isn't a problem. Even if I have to pay the dues for the rest of my life. But no, its not an affair either.

Really wish I could be more open about this, but can't find the right words to put it in.

wow... this thread moves fast. My point still holds... it goes to court for whatever reason the better attorney wins...

Exactly what I was thinking. AIM, ICQ, MSN, they have no real evidence of what IP you sent it from. Sure, I might have been online when they were sent, but that person could of been too.

I agree with you. I think it depends on the judge as well.

yes definetely... the judge who knows the attorney who gets together on holidays ;)

Since most judges are male.. (didn't I See a thread about this a few days ago, black women judges?) I should hire a hot female attorney.

and hope I either get a male judge or a lesbian black one...

if your around philly area I can direct you to the best criminal or civil attorney's around

$400 per hour for criminal... $475 for civil/divorce

Pittsburgh actually.. think they would take a drive over for lil' ol' me? lol

I know e-mails can be used, Especially in divorce cases....but you have made it clear this is no divorce..
Sometimes the evidence wont stand up if it wasn't legaly obtained.
If the other party in your case illegaly obtained the IM's in question (no warrent / password hack) then any lawyer 2 days out of lawschool can get them thrown out.

Unless you were doing something really really really bad, I wouldn't worry to much.

The person who obtained them owned the computer. The person that the messages were sent to from another source was using that computer. It wasn't a setup or anything. They had every right to look at it, but morally its wrong.

Who is the moral court judge again? lol.

highly doubtful, and if you have a good attorney - hell no.

a good attorney would request proof from the opp. side it was you that typed it, such as a witness, there is a burden on that request. A good attorney could prove you have a virus - and thereby the pc could have been exploited. Guess what you prob. got a few and dont even know it. A good attorney would keep it out of evidence all together. Its not like you just get to say heres my 100 pieces of evidence - and its all gonna be allowed in.

I'd say without proof - you got hear-say, and thats worthless.
Not to mention just about anything you say or write can be written off as "banter" with a good attorney.

I agree. So if the attorney did ask if they were sent by me.. what would be the proper answer?

That sounds pretty bad. Call these guys, a friend of mine used them here in Ohio (i'm near youngstown) and they got him off quicker then a $5 hooker:

Harshman & Gervelis Attorneys At Law
105 W Market St Warren, OH.
Phone: 330-395-3323

And I do believe these guys also work civil and criminal law in PA. Their a bit closer then philly, you may want to check them out.

Why do people keep talking about using IM evidence in a divorce? Aren't most states No Fault divorce law now or do you actually have to sue for divorce and the court finds someone at fault in some of your ass backwards states?

If it's a Criminal case, before anyone could enter the IMs into evidence, they would have to prove that YOU sent the IMs (to the exclusion of all other persons).

Regarding Tell that to judge Judy, brown, Mathis, and that peoples court chick - all of the cases on these shows are Civil cases and have a lower threshold with respect to what may (or may not) be entered into evidence.

(BTW, the shows on TV are technically not really court cases. The participants on all these shows all consent to enter into a binding arbitration agreement with the "judge" being the final arbiter).

Thanks man. I am about less than a half hour from Youngstown. Hopefully they can be used in PA courts. Think they will be in on New Years Eve?

How could they prove I sent the IM's? I don't think they can. They might be able to ask my cable provide if I was online during that time, but that pretty much is it, am I right?

I think there are like 10-15 states that still have a fault divorce option but if I recall all of them also have no fault. I get confused by this too. Perhaps everyone has crazy amounts of imaginary money to defend and their prenuptial agreement has some sort of fault clause or something.

Are you referring to your Attorney or the District Attorney?

The attorney I hire.

I was being a smart ass. It was more about gaining legal knowledge and less about the actual cases.

I dont know about the lawyers themselves being there, but i do know these guys have criminal investigators at their offices who are likely to be there.

the casey anthony trial will feature IM's she sent to the babys father, so we'll see how the defense handles that one.

Thanks man. One more question not sure if you can help me with this as well.

You know.. the New Year is coming.. I want to start out fresh.. so I was thinking about reformatting my computer. Should I wait, or just go ahead and do it, since it is the New Year, and all.:winkwink:

and if what you did/said was legal, dont worry about it then

Tell your Attorney the truth if he asks you. You don't want him to get blindsided by the DA. He won't be able to divulge anything you tell him due to "Attorney/Client privilege".