Text messages are admissible in a Georgia divorce, but only after you show they are what you claim they are.
What Authentication Requires
Under OCGA 24-9-901(a), “[t]he requirement of authentication or identification as a condition precedent to admissibility shall be satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what its proponent claims.” The statute lists examples rather than requirements, including testimony from a witness with knowledge and the “[a]ppearance, contents, substance, internal patterns, or other distinctive characteristics” of the message, taken together with the circumstances.
Texts Are Not Treated Differently
In In the Interest of A. A., 362 Ga. App. 426 (2022), the Court of Appeals explained that “there are no special rules under Georgia law governing the authentication of electronic documents or communications.” A participant in the exchange can authenticate the messages, and so can cell phone records from the carrier. Once the party offering the texts “presents a prima facie case that the evidence is what it purports to be,” they come in, and it is for the trier of fact to decide what they are worth.
The same court acknowledged that every form of electronic communication “can be ‘spoofed,’ ‘hacked,’ or ‘forged,’ but this does not and cannot mean that courts should reject any and all such communications.”
Admitted Is Not the Same as Believed
In Dallow v. Dallow, 299 Ga. 762 (2016), a father claimed the mother had been withholding his visitation. The mother testified that she never had, and offered text messages from their daughter saying that the mother had not prevented any visits. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the trial court “was entitled to credit that evidence,” and rejected the father’s claim on appeal that she had withheld visitation.
Contact Us
This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!