FAMILY LAW AND EVIDENCE

Written by Deborah S. Bull, CALS, CFLS^*

Many judges and attorneys in family law matters get used to the Evidence Code getting short shrift in family law; and may think it is not an area to which they need to pay much attention. As the trial judge stated in the case of In re Marriage of Davenport:¹

Davenport is best known for the First District’s exhortation on the need for attorneys to be civil, but it has important lessons to teach on evidence as well.² First and foremost, the Evidence Code does apply to Family Law. More, the judge is presumed to apply it correctly, and despite any hyperbole about throwing it out the window an appellate court will look at what actually happened throughout the proceeding.³

With the stage set, let’s look at a few areas where the Evidence Code commonly intersects the world of Family Law.