The Rules on Electronic Evidence applies only to civil actions, quasi-judicial proceedings, and

administrative proceedings.1515 A.M. No. 01-7-01-SC, Rule 1, Section 2.

Text messages are to be proved by the testimony of a person who was a party to
the same or has personal knowledge of them.16

Text messages are to be proved by the testimony of a person who was a party to the same or has
personal knowledge of them.16

A.M. No. 01-7-01-SC, Re: Expansion of the Coverage of the Rules on Electronic Evidence,
September 24, 2002.

Rule 1, Sec. 2. Cases covered. – These Rules shall apply to the criminal and civil actions and
proceeding, as well as quasi-judicial and administrative cases.

16 Id., Rule 11, Section 2:

Section 2. Ephemeral electronic communications. – Ephemeral electronic communications shall be

proven by the testimony of a person who was a party to the same or has personal knowledge
thereof. In the absence or unavailability of such witnesses, other competent evidence may be
admitted.

Can a text message conversation be used as evidence in a court of law?

14 Answers

Chris Harvey

Chris Harvey, Lawyer for Entrepreneurs.

Answered Jan 29 2016 · Upvoted by John Marshall, JD Law, Fordham University School of Law (1977) ·
Author has 244 answers and 364.9k answer views

Yes, but your biggest hurdles are:

Preservation of the Evidence

Authentication

Hearsay
1. Preservation of the Evidence

The first step is to save your evidence. You need to screen capture the text messages or find a way to
save your entire conversation so that it can be transferred, displayed, or stored on another device to be
admitted at trial or deposition.

2. Authentication

A major evidentiary issue for the judge is determining whether the texts were genuinely written, sent, or
received by the parties and that they contain the full conversation. The key to overcoming this barrier is
by authenticating the source of the messages.

Text messages can be authenticated through a variety of ways, including:

The other party admitting they're his or her texts;

A witness who saw the text messages created or sent;

Characteristics of the message itself;

Circumstantial proof (such as phone company proof); and

"Reply authentication," in which a reply text is deemed authentic because it's clearly in response to the
text message that was initially sent.

3. Figure Out How to Overcome Hearsay Issues.

Another challenge to getting text messages admitted as evidence is when they constitute hearsay
statements. Hearsay is:

An out of court statement, other than by the witness testifying at trial or hearing, offered to prove the
truth of the matter asserted.

A key question to ask: Who wrote it, and what exactly are you trying to prove with your text message
evidence? If you want to use the out-of-court statements made in the texts as evidence, and you want
the court to accept those statements as true, then the texts will likely be considered hearsay evidence.
In such a situation, the texts can get in as evidence only if they fit within a hearsay exception. Party
admissions are an exception to the rule, so that if the person responsible for sending the text (the
sender) is in fact the same person you are suing, then that is the exception to the rule.

But if the text message states, for example, "Johnny is skimming money from your business" and you
use that statement to prove that defendant John Doe is, in fact, stealing money from your business,
then a court is not likely to allow that text message into evidence as it is an out of court statement
offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.

Complainant was able to prove by his testimony in conjunction with the text messages from
respondent duly presented before the Committee that the latter asked for One Million Pesos
(P1,000,000.00) in exchange for a favorable decision of the former’s pending case with the CA. The
text messages were properly admitted by the Committee since the same are now covered by Section
1(k), Rule 2 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence[65] which provides:

“Ephemeral electronic communication” refers to telephone conversations, text messages . . . and

other electronic forms of communication the evidence of which is not recorded or retained.”

Under Section 2, Rule 11 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence, “Ephemeral electronic communications
shall be proven by the testimony of a person who was a party to the same or who has personal
knowledge thereof . . . .” In this case, complainant who was the recipient of said messages and
therefore had personal knowledge thereof testified on their contents and import. Respondent herself
admitted that the cellphone number reflected in complainant’s cellphone from which the messages
originated was hers.[66] Moreover, any doubt respondent may have had as to the admissibility of the
text messages had been laid to rest when she and her counsel signed and attested to the veracity of
the text messages between her and complainant.[67] It is also well to remember that in
administrative cases, technical rules of procedure and evidence are not strictly applied.[68] We have
no doubt as to the probative value of the text messages as evidence in determining the guilt or lack
thereof of respondent in this case.xxx....

ZALDY NUEZ, Complainant, vs.

ELVIRA CRUZ-APAO, Respondent.

A.M. No. CA-05-18-P; April 12, 2005

The text messages were properly admitted by the Committee since the same are now covered by
Section 1(k), Rule 2 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence65 which provides:

“Ephemeral electronic communication” refers to telephone conversations, text messages . . . and other
electronic forms of communication the evidence of which is not recorded or retained.”

Under Section 2, Rule 11 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence, “Ephemeral electronic communications
shall be proven by the testimony of a person who was a party to the same or who has personal
knowledge thereof . . . .” In this case, complainant who was the recipient of said messages and therefore
had personal knowledge thereof testified on their contents and import. Respondent herself admitted
that the cellphone number reflected in complainant’s cellphone from which the messages originated
was hers. Moreover, any doubt respondent may have had as to the admissibility of the text messages
had been laid to rest when she and her counsel signed and attested to the veracity of the text messages
between her and complainant. It is also well to remember that in administrative cases, technical rules of
procedure and evidence are not strictly applied.