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True Justice Record
    True Justice Record

      Kinds of proof

      This record

      True Justice Record — What actually proves a fact, and what happens when nothing does

      An official birth certificate lying flat, its printed fields and stamps visible

      TJR-0093

      Proving a Relationship

      Birth Records and What They Establish

      A birth certificate looks like the least arguable document in a file, and it records a registration rather than an event. Who reported it, how long afterwards and under what system all bear on what the entry actually establishes.

      6 min readAgency practice

      The index

      What actually proves a fact, and what happens when nothing does. Every entry is filed under the kind of proof it concerns.

      Documents and What They Prove

      What a piece of paper establishes, what it merely suggests, and the formalities that decide which of the two it is.

      1. TJR-0005The Notary's Role, and Its LimitsCertification and notarizationCourts and agencies
      2. TJR-0009The Document That Contradicts the RecordAlterations and irregularitiesCourts and agencies
      3. TJR-0010Reading a Form Against Its InstructionsForms and instructionsAgency practice
      4. TJR-0004When a Signature Has to Be WitnessedSeals and formalitiesCourts and agencies
      5. TJR-0007A Document With No Date on ItAlterations and irregularitiesCourts and agencies
      6. TJR-0006Seals, Stamps and What They CertifySeals and formalitiesAgency practice
      7. TJR-0001What a Document Proves, and What It Only SuggestsOriginals and copiesCourts and agencies
      8. TJR-0003Certified Copies and Who May Issue OneCertification and notarizationAgency practice
      Every entry filed under Documents and What They Prove

      Records Somebody Else Holds

      How to reach a record that sits with an agency, an employer, a hospital or a bank, and what to do when the holder will not produce it.

      1. TJR-0021Police Reports and Incident RecordsAgency files and requestsAgency practice
      2. TJR-0024Redactions and What They ConcealRedactionsAgency practice
      3. TJR-0017Medical Records and Who May Release ThemMedical and employment recordsCourts and agencies
      4. TJR-0025Records Destroyed on ScheduleDestroyed recordsCourts and agencies
      5. TJR-0022When the Holder of a Record RefusesRefusals and appealsCourts and agencies
      6. TJR-0026Proving a Record Once ExistedDestroyed recordsCourts and agencies
      7. TJR-0023Fees, Formats and Delivery of RecordsRefusals and appealsAgency practice
      8. TJR-0016What a Records Request Can and Cannot ReachAgency files and requestsAgency practice
      Every entry filed under Records Somebody Else Holds

      Testimony and Credibility

      What a person's account can establish, how it is tested, and why an honest witness and a reliable one are not the same thing.

      1. TJR-0028Recollection and Reconstruction Are Not the Same ThingMemory and consistencyCourt rules
      2. TJR-0032Interpreters and What They ChangeInterpretersCourts and agencies
      3. TJR-0039What Cross-Examination Is TestingCross-examinationCourt rules
      4. TJR-0030Statements Made Long After the EventMemory and consistencyCourts and agencies
      5. TJR-0035The Hearsay Problem, Explained PlainlyHearsay and exceptionsCourt rules
      6. TJR-0031The Witness Who Will Not ComeWitness statementsCourt rules
      7. TJR-0036Statements Made for Medical TreatmentHearsay and exceptionsCourt rules
      8. TJR-0034Character, Reputation and HabitCross-examinationCourt rules
      Every entry filed under Testimony and Credibility

      Documents From Another Country

      What a foreign record needs before an American decision-maker will rely on it, and what is available when the issuing country cannot produce it.

      1. TJR-0043Certified Translation and Who May Certify ItCertified translationCourts and agencies
      2. TJR-0051Documents From a State That No Longer ExistsUnavailable recordsAgency practice
      3. TJR-0041The Apostille and the Countries It CoversApostille and legalizationAgency practice
      4. TJR-0049Foreign Judgments Offered as EvidenceForeign judgmentsCourt rules
      5. TJR-0044Names Spelled Differently in Another CountryNames, dates and registriesAgency practice
      6. TJR-0050Police Certificates and What They CoverUnavailable recordsAgency practice
      7. TJR-0042Legalization Where No Apostille AppliesApostille and legalizationAgency practice
      8. TJR-0047When a Country Cannot Produce the RecordUnavailable recordsAgency practice
      Every entry filed under Documents From Another Country

      Evidence That Lives on a Phone

      What a device actually holds, who is able to reach it, and why the screenshot everybody offers proves so little.

      1. TJR-0065When a Device Is Lost or WipedPreserving a deviceCourts and agencies
      2. TJR-0063Voice Notes and RecordingsRecording lawfullyCourts and agencies
      3. TJR-0058Location History Offered as EvidenceLocation and timestampsCourt rules
      4. TJR-0062Social Media Posts and Their CustodyPreserving a deviceCourts and agencies
      5. TJR-0060Call Records Against Call ContentCloud accountsCourts and agencies
      6. TJR-0053What Is on a Phone, and Who Can Reach ItScreenshots and metadataCourts and agencies
      7. TJR-0057Cloud Accounts and Where the Data SitsCloud accountsCourts and agencies
      8. TJR-0056Messages That Delete ThemselvesDisappearing messagesCourts and agencies
      Every entry filed under Evidence That Lives on a Phone

      Opinion That Counts as Evidence

      When a professional view becomes evidence rather than commentary, and what makes one opinion survive where another is excluded.

      1. TJR-0067Who Qualifies as an ExpertQualificationCourt rules
      2. TJR-0077Paying for an Opinion, and What It BuysReports and disclosureCourts and agencies
      3. TJR-0069What an Expert Report Must ContainReports and disclosureCourt rules
      4. TJR-0078When an Opinion Is ExcludedExclusionCourt rules
      5. TJR-0066When an Opinion Becomes EvidenceQualificationCourt rules
      6. TJR-0075Country Conditions and Who May Speak to ThemCompeting expertsAgency practice
      7. TJR-0073Valuation Opinions and Their AssumptionsValuation and translationCourts and agencies
      8. TJR-0074Translation as an Expert QuestionValuation and translationCourts and agencies
      Every entry filed under Opinion That Counts as Evidence

      Who Must Prove It

      Which side carries the burden, how convincing the proof has to be, and how cases are decided when nobody has proved anything.

      1. TJR-0079Who Must Prove It, and Why That Decides CasesAllocating the burdenCourts and agencies
      2. TJR-0085Beyond a Reasonable DoubtStandards comparedCourt rules
      3. TJR-0083Proof by a PreponderanceStandards comparedCourts and agencies
      4. TJR-0084Clear and Convincing EvidenceStandards comparedCourts and agencies
      5. TJR-0086Failing for Want of ProofAllocating the burdenCourts and agencies
      6. TJR-0088Stipulations and What They RemoveStipulations and noticeCourt rules
      7. TJR-0087Adverse InferencesInferencesCourts and agencies
      8. TJR-0081The Presumption That Starts a CasePresumptionsCourts and agencies
      Every entry filed under Who Must Prove It

      Proving a Relationship

      How a family tie is established on paper, and what is available when the paper does not exist or is not believed.

      1. TJR-0099Photographs and Correspondence as EvidenceA shared lifeAgency practice
      2. TJR-0101Affidavits From People Who Knew ThemAffidavitsCourts and agencies
      3. TJR-0100Joint Finances as Proof of a RelationshipA shared lifeAgency practice
      4. TJR-0104Proving a Relationship Where Records Never ExistedAffidavitsAgency practice
      5. TJR-0092Proving a Relationship on PaperBirth and marriage recordsAgency practice
      6. TJR-0096Step-Relationships and When They CountParentage and adoptionAgency practice
      7. TJR-0103Divorce Records From Another CountryDoubted relationshipsAgency practice
      8. TJR-0095Adoption, Guardianship and Legal ParentageParentage and adoptionCourts and agencies
      Every entry filed under Proving a Relationship

      Proving Money

      How income, assets and transfers are established, and why cash and informal arrangements are the hardest facts to prove.

      1. TJR-0112Proving the Source of FundsTracing and source of fundsAgency practice
      2. TJR-0108Bank Statements and Their GapsBank statements and gapsCourts and agencies
      3. TJR-0116Undisclosed Assets, and How They SurfaceUndisclosed assetsCourts and agencies
      4. TJR-0109Cash, and Why It Is Hard to ProveCash and informal paymentsCourts and agencies
      5. TJR-0105Proving Money: Income, Assets and TransfersIncome recordsCourts and agencies
      6. TJR-0114Valuing Property for a ProceedingValuationCourts and agencies
      7. TJR-0113Business Income and Its RecordsIncome recordsCourts and agencies
      8. TJR-0106Tax Returns Offered as EvidenceIncome recordsCourts and agencies
      Every entry filed under Proving Money

      When the Proof Does Not Exist

      What is available when the record was never made, was destroyed on schedule, or is held by the person it would damage.

      1. TJR-0127Delay, Memory and What Is RecoverableReconstructionCourts and agencies
      2. TJR-0130Preserving Proof Before It Is NeededSecondary evidenceCourts and agencies
      3. TJR-0126Evidence Destroyed by Somebody ElseSpoliationCourts and agencies
      4. TJR-0125Spoliation and Missing EvidenceSpoliationCourt rules
      5. TJR-0118When the Proof Does Not ExistSecondary evidenceCourts and agencies
      6. TJR-0119Reconstructing a Record From FragmentsReconstructionCourts and agencies
      7. TJR-0124The Chain of Small FactsCircumstantial proofCourts and agencies
      8. TJR-0128Asking for More Time to Find ProofExplaining a gapCourts and agencies
      Every entry filed under When the Proof Does Not Exist