Noting that litigants in domestic violence cases often seek to introduce evidence contained on their mobile phones, an Ocean County judge has ruled that such evidence must be submitted to the court in tangible form, such as a printout or a CD, in order to avoid logistical and procedural issues.

Parties in family court cases should be given advance notice that cellphone evidence to be introduced at a hearing must be made in duplicate hard copy, Superior Court Judge Lawrence Jones said in E.C. v. R.H. In that case, where the plaintiff is seeking a final restraining order against a former dating partner who has allegedly sent voicemails, text messages and social media messages filled with profanity and derogatory comments, the judge adjourned the case one week to allow parties to produce hard copies of evidence stored on their phones.

While the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act calls for final hearings to be held within 10 days of the filing of a complaint, such an adjournment for the purpose of producing hard copies of evidence stored on a litigant's phone is not inappropriate if it extends the proceedings beyond 10 days, Jones said in the ruling, which was made public Oct. 19.