Evidence Code § 1220: Admission of a Party

Evidence Code § 1220 is the exception that carries most text-message evidence: a statement is not barred by the hearsay rule when it is offered against the party who made it. If the other side wrote the text and you offer it against them, the hearsay objection fails, and the fight moves to authentication.

The statute

Evidence of a statement is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule when offered against the declarant in an action to which he is a party in either his individual or representative capacity, regardless of whether the statement was made in his individual or representative capacity.

Cal. Evid. Code § 1220.

What it means for text messages

Three points. First, the exception has no trustworthiness requirement; the statement comes in because the party made it and can explain it on the stand, not because it is reliable. Second, "statement" includes anything the party wrote in the thread, including messages that seem innocuous alone but matter in context, which is another reason to produce the whole conversation. Third, the section only covers statements by the party. The other participant's messages in the same thread are not admissions of your opponent; they may come in for a non-hearsay purpose (to give the party's replies context, for example) or under another exception, and the court may admit them for that limited purpose.

Because § 1220 solves the hearsay problem so cleanly, authorship becomes the whole case. The exception applies only if the party actually sent the message, which is a § 1400–1401 authentication question. Content only the party would know (§ 1421), the party's replies to calls during the exchange, the phone number and contact name, and a collection that preserves sender identifiers are how that is shown; see Evidence Code 1401: authenticating text messages and Adoption of X.D. (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 29, 2025, No. B343632), where the sender's own admissions about the phone number and nickname helped authenticate screenshots he denied sending.

Related sections

§ 1200 hearsay rule · § 1400–1401 authentication · Hub

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the other party's text messages against them in California?

Yes. Under § 1220 a party's own statements are admissible against them regardless of the hearsay rule, once you authenticate that the party sent them.

Does § 1220 cover my own messages in the thread?

No. It covers statements offered against the party who made them. Your own messages may be admitted for context or under another rule, at the court's discretion.

What if the other party denies sending the texts?

That is an authentication dispute under §§ 1400–1401, decided on circumstantial evidence: content only they would know, the number and contact name, replies and calls during the exchange, and the integrity of the collection.