Can you identify the driver?

Interesting thought occurred to me on a personal injury case.  The scenario typically only happens in Justice Court in Mississippi or General Sessions in Tennessee.  How do you identify the driver in a motor vehicle accident for evidentiary purposes?  The question sounds easy until you think about it.  Typically due to hearsay or other reasons, the accident report is not admissible.  Until you can prove it really was the other person, cannot use any of the opposing parties' statements as an admission under the rules of evidence.  I have seen some defense attorneys do this especially when you are not entitled to discovery in Justice Court or General Sessions.  They will not stipulate it was their client in the accident, object to any evidence by the other party saying it was their client, and not have their client appear in Court.  Contrary to popular belief, there is actually no requirement for either party to appear but the Plaintiff still has to prove their case.

With the evidentiary rules in mind, how do you prove who the driver was?  At some point in the record or as part of your proof in a motor vehicle accident, there is going to have to be some admissible evidence of who the Defendant driver was.  I would advise subpoenaing the opposing party and putting them on the stand first to establish this along with subpoenaing the police officer who made any report on the scene.  You may want the Defendant to state what their driver's license number is so the police officer can use the report for refreshing their memory only to help identify the Defendant.  Additionally, it is good if your client can remember what the person looks like and identify them on the record.  For most any personal injury case or criminal case, the identity of the Defendant is actually an essential element. 

In Circuit Court in either state, this issue would typically be taken care of by depositions, stipulations in a pretrial order, or admitted to in written discovery.  However, be aware you still need to make some kind of proof of this on the record or you have not actually fully proven your case and will have a dismissal granted on a request for directed verdict.