5 Things to Expect or Do during a NJ Small Claims Trial (#3 of 5)

3. Paper is overrated

The rules of evidence are a technical and legalistic mishmash of procedures designed to make sure that the judge can rely on documents and testimony that are reliable. However, without formal legal training (heck, with formal legal training) sometimes these rules are hard to understand or apply. One of the rules is that documents can sometimes be inadmissible in court.

It's always better to have the documents than not to have them, but it's always better to have your own testimony, corroborated by other people's testimony, to back the documents up and give them the proper context.