sharminlaw

Immigration Status and Florida Car accident claim

Can a Florida Court allow evidence of status to be heard by a Jury in a Car accident lawsuit?

The answer is Maybe, as can be expected right? The long answer is under normal circumstances no. For example if you are in Florida illegally and you get in to a car accident and the lawyer representing the person that hit you wants to tell the jury that you are here illegally, you attorney can use the tool called a motion in limine ask that the information be removed from the list of fact which can be advocated or sough to be proved in Court. That means it cannot be mentioned in the voire dire process (that’s when the lawyers ask the jury questions that are designed to reveal if the jury has any prejudice which would prevent them from being a fair and impartial judge of every one rights).

The motion in limine will also prevent the presentation of any evidence of status of the Florida car accident victim during the course of the trial.

However, there is an exception to all this of-course. For example if the car accident victims attorney pleads for lost wages he would in the legal sense be opening the door on the issue of status. The other lawyer, representing the person that caused the car accident would then be allowed to introduce evidence of status in order to prove to the jury that you are not able to earn money legal so how could you come to court and argue for relief as to lost earning.