In today’s digital age, text messages often hold crucial evidence in personal injury cases. At Lipton Law, we understand the pivotal role that such evidence can play in supporting your claim. In our latest blog, the Southfield personal injury attorneys explain the legal possibilities and procedures surrounding the subpoena of text messages.
Whether you’re involved in a car accident, workplace injury, or any other personal injury scenario, knowing how to obtain and use text messages legally can significantly impact the outcome of your case.
If you or a loved one suffered injuries due to another’s negligence, you could have grounds to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. To learn more about how the Southfield personal injury attorneys at Lipton Law can help, call (248) 557-1688 to schedule a free consultation today.
Statistics on Text Messaging
Understanding the influence and prevalence of text messaging is crucial, especially in legal contexts. The staggering statistics behind text message usage provide a backdrop for its significance in legal proceedings. These numbers not only demonstrate how integral text messaging has become in our daily interactions but also highlight its potential evidentiary value in legal cases. Below are some key text message statistics:
- The average open rate for text messages is around 99%, with 97% of texts being read within 15 minutes of receipt.
- Americans check their mobile phones an average of 96 times a day, which is once every ten minutes.
- The average smartphone user spends 26 minutes per day texting.
- An estimated 781 billion text messages are sent every month.
- 81% of Americans text daily, which equals around 259 million people.
- Over three billion people are using messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook.
- In the U.S., cell phone users send and receive five times more text messages than phone calls daily.
- The average cell phone user sends 32 texts each day.
- 70% of users receive promotional messages from businesses.
Can Text Messages Be Used in Court?
In personal injury cases, text message logs can be pivotal pieces of evidence, offering insights into the events leading up to an accident, the behavior of the parties involved, or the extent of the injuries suffered.
To use text message records in court for court cases, it’s essential to establish their relevance to the injury or accident. They must be authenticated, ensuring they are genuine and have not been tampered with. This often involves technical expertise to confirm the origin and integrity of the messages.
While text message content can be used as evidence in court, acquiring these messages must respect privacy laws. The text message records are obtained through a court order, subpoena, or discovery request and are usually authenticated through circumstantial evidence to prove where the text originated from.
How Can Text Messages Be Used in Court?
Text messages can serve as a powerful tool in personal injury cases. Text message records can be used in many ways, including:
- Text messages can provide a timeline or details about an accident or injury, such as conversations about where and when it happened or texts sent immediately after the incident.
- Texts might contain admissions of fault or negligence from the party responsible for the injury.
- Messages discussing the injury, pain, or the impact on daily life can illustrate the severity and consequences of the injury.
- Text message history can support or contradict statements made by witnesses or the parties involved.
For example, say you were involved in a car accident where the other driver was texting, which caused the accident. The Southfield car accident attorneys from Lipton Law can use the other driver’s text message records to prove they were texting during the accident.
How to Get Text Message Transcripts by Subpoena
Your attorney will follow a formal legal process to obtain text message records for a personal injury case. First, they’ll ensure the text messages are relevant to your personal injury claim. Then, your attorney will draft a subpoena requesting the phone company or individual holding the messages to produce them. This subpoena is then served to the relevant service provider or the individual possessing the messages. The cell phone provider or individual must comply unless they challenge the subpoena in court.
How Far Back Can Text Messages Be Subpoenaed?
In regard to federal government cases, text message subpoenas are not limited to a time frame. They can be requested going as far back as they exist. However, personal injury cases don’t have the flexibility the government does, so attorneys are more restricted with how far back they can subpoena cell phone data.
Legal limitations, such as statutes of limitations for certain types of personal injury cases, can affect how far back your attorney can subpoena messages. It’s also important to consider the relevance of the messages to the case, as courts are unlikely to allow subpoenas for information that is not directly relevant.
Due to the challenges that subpoenaing text messages present, it’s recommended to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney. The personal injury attorneys at Lipton Law understand how crucial text message records are to these cases and will do what it takes to recover this evidence to strengthen your claim.
Can Deleted Text Messages Be Subpoenaed?
Deleted text messages can potentially be subpoenaed, but the success of retrieving them depends on various factors. When a text message is deleted, it may not be immediately removed from the phone’s system and could still be recoverable. However, the ability to retrieve these messages often depends on the data retention policies and technical capabilities of the cellular service providers.
What Do Subpoena Phone Records Show?
Phone records can provide account details like call logs, including dates, times, durations of calls, and the associated phone numbers. Typically, phone records will not provide text messages’ content, only the date the message was sent and received.
In some instances, these records can also provide location data of the phone, which can be helpful when establishing timelines or verifying the location of individuals at the time of the accident.
How Far Back Can Text Messages Be Retrieved?
The ability to retrieve text messages depends largely on the policies of the service provider and the specifics of the mobile device in question. Each carrier has its own policy regarding how long they store text message data. Typically, service providers keep records of text message details (dates, times, and phone numbers involved) for a period ranging from a few days to several years.
However, the actual content of the text messages is often not stored for more than a few days or weeks. On the device itself, the retrieval of text messages depends on the storage capacity, settings, and whether the messages have been backed up to a cloud service.
How Long Do Cell Phone Companies Keep Text Message Records?
Cellular service providers have different policies regarding the duration they keep messages and other existing data. On average, this data is typically stored between one and seven years, but it most likely does not include the content of the texts. Text message content is generally kept for a few days or up to several months, depending on the service provider.
How to Subpoena Text Messages by Provider
As mentioned above, different cell phone providers have their own policies when it comes to releasing subpoenaed text messages. In the section below, we’ll briefly explain how long each provider keeps text message records and their compliance department information.
AT&T Wireless
AT&T stores users sent and received text messages for a maximum of 90 days. Any text message content that is older than that is deleted from the iCloud backup storage.
| AT&T Wireless Subpoena Compliance Center | |
| Address | Phone/Fax |
| AT&T Wireless Subpoena Compliance Center 11760 US Highway 1, Ste. 600 North Palm Beach, FL 33408 | Phone: (800) 291-4952 Fax: (888) 938-4715 (National Compliance) (877) 971-6093 (Wireless) |
Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless keeps text message content for up to five days. However, they retain the metadata, like the date, sender, and recipient, for 90 days. The Verizon Security Assistance Team handles subpoenas and court orders for Verizon Custodian of Records.
| Verizon Security Assistance Team | |
| Address | Phone/Fax |
| Verizon Attn: VSAT 180 Washington Valley Road Bedminster, NJ 07921 | Phone: (800) 451-5242 Fax: (888) 667-0028 |
T-Mobile
T-Mobile does not store text messaging content but will retain data for a maximum of five years.
| T-Mobile | |
| Address | Phone/Fax |
| T-Mobile Subpoena Compliance Dept. 4 Sylvan Way Parsippany, NJ 07054 | Phone: (973) 292-8911 Fax: (973) 292-8697 |
Contact a Michigan Personal Injury Lawyer with Lipton Law
If you’ve been injured in an accident caused by another person’s negligent actions, you need expert legal representation to ensure you recover fair compensation. Since 1964, the Southfield personal injury attorneys at Lipton Law have represented countless clients and are ready to represent you. To schedule a free consultation with an experienced Lipton Law attorney, call (248) 557-1688 today.