How Can I Show the Court a Parent’s Previous Words and Deeds to Show He/She Is Lying?
What you are asking about is called “impeaching” the witness.
There are many ways to impeach a witness. One way is to ask him or her questions to which the answer is already known (and you have independently verifiable proof of it) to see if the witness will answer falsely in response to them. If the witness lies, then you can “impeach” the witness by showing the court the proof of what is true and thus expose the witness as a liar.
But bear this in mind: just because you showed that a witness lied does not necessarily mean the court will not consider the witness’s testimony. I literally had a judge tell me that, despite the fact I impeached the witness in regard to one subject, the judge could tell the difference between when the witness was lying and when the witness was telling the truth. I’m not sure how the judge could perform such a feat, but that’s what he claimed. But even if a judge were not to claim to be a living lie detector, showing that a witness lied does not mean that the court must reject all of the witness’s testimony or refuse to hear anything else the witness may have to say.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
Tags: divorce, impeachment, witness