Comenzando el Caso en la Corte

Each state has its own laws about what evidence you can use in court. For example, you may need to get certified copies of documents you want the judge to look at, or you may only be able to enter information from certain parts of a document. If you are trying to get reports from police, hospitals, doctors, etc., you may have to get a subpoena signed by the judge or other court personnel to get those documents. Your state may require that subpoenaed documents be sent directly to the courthouse instead of you. If you are seeking records from third parties, like a phone company or an internet service provider, there may be additional hurdles or delays because of privacy laws or company policies regarding the storage of data. Due to complex rules of evidence, it may be hard to figure all of this out on your own – this is where having the help of a lawyer can be especially helpful.

En la mayoría de los estado, evidencia puede incluir:

• el testimonio en la corte de usted o sus testigos;
• reportes médicos de sus heridas debido al maltrato;
• reportes policiales;
• fotos de los daños que haya sufrido;
• objetos de la casa que la persona agresora haya roto o dañado;
• fotos de su casa en desorden después de un episodio de violencia doméstica;
• fotos de armas que la persona agresora haya usado para cometer el maltrato;
• grabaciones de llamadas que usted haya hecho al 911, las cuales pueden solicitarse por un requerimiento judicial;
• copias certificadas de los antecedentes criminales relevantes de la persona agresora;
• un registro, diario o calendario donde haya documentado el maltrato según fue ocurriendo; y
• cualquier otra cosa que ayude a probar el maltrato y que sea permitido según las reglas de evidencia de su estado.

Generally, the more evidence you have, the better. However, the evidence should be directly related to the issue that the judge is considering. For example, if you are filing for a restraining order, evidence of the abuser cheating on you likely won’t be relevant to prove s/he abused you. A good rule of thumb is to always keep in mind what you have to prove according to the law, and then to remember that your evidence only has to convince the judge that it’s “more likely than not” that the abuser did what you claim. Also, remember that even if you have no documents or witnesses, your testimony is evidence. Don’t be discouraged from pursuing your case if the “only” evidence you have is your testimony.