Rule 2.Applicability of the Arizona Rules of Evidence

This is the most consequential rule in Part I, and it surprises practitioners who come from civil litigation. In an Arizona family law hearing, the Rules of Evidence are not fully in force unless somebody asks for them.

The notice

Any party may file a notice requiring compliance with the Arizona Rules of Evidence at a hearing or trial. The notice must be filed at least 45 days before the hearing or trial, or by another date the court sets. If the hearing is set fewer than 60 days in advance, the notice is timely if filed within a reasonable time after the party learns of the date.

A notice lasts until a judgment as defined by Rule 78(a)(1) has been entered as to all claims, issues and parties and nothing further remains pending under Rule 78(c). And it can only be revoked in writing, signed by both parties, and filed — one party cannot withdraw it alone.

What switches off without a notice

If nobody files a timely notice, subsection (b) turns off a specific list: Rules 602, 801-807, 901-903 and 1002-1005 of the Arizona Rules of Evidence. In plain terms that is personal knowledge, the whole of hearsay and its exceptions, authentication and identification, and the best evidence rule.

Everything else still applies — subsection (b)(2) is explicit that the other Rules of Evidence, including Rule 403, remain in force. So relevance and the balance against unfair prejudice still govern; what relaxes is the machinery of proof.

Two things that come in either way

Subsection (c) admits a record of regularly conducted activity — the business records category in Evidence Rule 803(6) — and reports prepared under Rules 68 or 73, without testimony from a custodian, if the record is relevant, reliable and was timely disclosed. That holds whether or not a notice was filed.

Subsection (d) does the same for an Affidavit of Financial Information: any AFI required to be filed or served may be considered as evidence if a party offers it and the court admits it.