Keeping a Diary

In many domestic relationships, there comes a point where people start to get a bad feeling about what is going to happen in the future, like an event of domestic violence.  Maybe your partner is acting strange, saying strange things, or lying.  Maybe your partner has had a hard time controlling her temper at times or become more aggressive, and you feel like a physical altercation may be on the horizon. Clearly, there are certain steps that can be taken to attempt to prevent future physical or mental abuse, like communication, counseling, medication, leaving the relationship, etc.
After an event has occurred, and a party comes to an attorney for help in a criminal or family law situation that has resulted.  The attorney will ask his client about the partner's strange behavior before the alleged violent incident in question.  The attorney would like to have concrete, specific examples of the behavior, and usually human memory does not allow for a high level of detail in recalling past events.
If the client would have kept a diary and written down the partner's strange, aggressive, or criminal behavior, the attorney could use the diary to more clearly evaluate the client's defenses and potentially use the diary at trial.
The rules of evidence allow for these diaries to be used at trial in certain situations.  NRS 51.125 allows for the recorded recollection to be admissible.  "1. A memorandum or record concerning a matter about which a witness once had knowledge but now has insufficient recollection to enable the witness to testify fully and accurately is not inadmissible under the hearsay rule if it is shown to have been made when the matter was fresh in the witness's memory and to reflect that knowledge correctly.  2. The memorandum or record may be read into evidence but may not itself be received unless offered by an adverse party."
Even better than a diary, would be an in-person video or audio recording of the behavior on a smartphone (no recording of phone conversations without consent).  Always remember that some of this data could also be available in old text messaging and other social media.  All of this information should be saved and could prove to be very helpful in the prosecution or defense of a case.  Collect all of this data, and present it to your attorney if a legal situation arises.
If you have been charged with Battery, Battery Domestic Violence, or any crime related to a Domestic incident, or if a TPO has been issued against you, please visit gerobinsonlaw.com or call 702-233-4225 for help.