A Guide to Exhibit Stickers for the Courtroom

What Are Exhibit Stickers?

An exhibit sticker is a small label that is affixed to the items that will be part of the evidence presented at court. Typically, the sticker is strategically placed on the item or surrounding the item in the case of an electronic file or an oversized piece of evidence. This way, the document and the label are presented together as a single item for consideration during the trial or hearing. Exhibit stickers achieve two major purposes when used in court. First, they quickly identify the key facts in a legal matter for the judge or jury — or the person who will issue a ruling on a motion or other matter based on the evidence presented during the hearing . The sticker itself helps draw attention to the piece of evidence and provide context for it in the legal proceeding. Second, these stickers create a visual record of the evidence that is presented to the court. The sticker provides critical information about the evidence, including the name of the party who will present the evidence, the date the piece of evidence was created, and the trial at which it was introduced. This becomes a permanent part of the record, replacing other documents that must otherwise be maintained by individual parties for review at a future time.

Types of Exhibit Stickers

Exhibit stickers come in several color-coded options, with the most common being:
Blue- Used for Plaintiff exhibits.
Red- Used for Defendant exhibits.
Green- Used for Court exhibits.
Black- Used for potential non-party exhibits.
Yellow- Used for potential third-party exhibits.
Purple- Used for Potential Witness Exhibit sticker.
Brown- Used for Deposition Video Exhibit sticker.
White- Used for Other Exhibit sticker.
The colors are typically arranged in a pattern. You might have blue on top, red on the bottom, green on the left and purple on the right in each corner.
In today’s courtroom, there can be hundreds of exhibits that need to be numbered. This is where the many different sequences for exhibit stickers are useful.
The sequences are easy to remember and do not require a lot of thinking when you are trying to keep up with what you are marking. These sequences include:
A through Z- These stickers are used for potential non-party exhibits.
A1- A9999- These stickers are used for non-party exhibits.
A1- A9999 (AA1-AA9999, AAA1-AAA9999) – These stickers are used for third-party exhibits. In the event that you have more than 10,00 third-party exhibits, you can start with two letters.
AA1- AA9999 (AAA1-AAA9999) – These stickers are used for parties.
AAA1- AAA9999 (BBBB1-BBBB9999) – These stickers are used for transcripts.
Our exhibit sticker templates are all set up with the information you need for your lawsuit readily available, and we put them in the most efficient sequence per exhibit type. This saves you a lot of time and effort when you are trying to get through the thousands of documents you might have.

Why You Need To Use Exhibit Stickers in Court

Exhibit stickers serve as a critical tool in maintaining all of the organization of your case materials. Without them, it would be exceedingly difficult to keep track of what exhibits you are intending to present and follow them during trial. While it is possible to go without them, you will find that using exhibit stickers makes things several times easier and faster, in addition to helping prevent mistakes. Further, many courts will have their own rules about how exhibits should be labeled and which types of information to include on them, which will mandate court cases use these stickers instead of leaving it up to the attorneys to label them in some other fashion.
Organizing your case materials is a fundamental step in preparing for trial. You want to ensure your client is properly represented, and you will not be able to do that unless you have proper access and order of your materials. The best way to do this is with exhibit stickers. Exhibit stickers are the best way to keep your exhibits organized and help you make sure you don’t lose track of an important piece of evidence you need to present. Additionally, exhibit stickers can assist referees and judges in viewing or reading through exhibits when you reference them in court.
Exhibit stickers can help you avoid some major pitfalls in your case presentation. Some people think that if you do not identify an exhibit, then it does not need an exhibit sticker. However, this is not true. Even if an exhibit will not be presented to the trier of fact, it will be presented to the court and must be understood in order to be given proper rulings. Without the use of exhibit stickers, it can be very difficult for the court to understand what you are trying to reference and sometimes rule against you simply because they are unaware of exhibits that need to be in view of the court.
Similarly, exhibit stickers help to maintain the level of professionalism that is necessary for a successful court case. Asking the judge to reiterate over and over again for a few seconds every time you need to reference an exhibit will severely impact your ability to make favorable impressions. The audience’s attention will be turned toward you in a negative way for an action that you could have easily avoided with the help of exhibit stickers.

How To Properly Apply Exhibit Stickers

Exhibit stickers are an indispensable part of evidence preparation for court. Applying them to your documents and evidence is a way to standardize the information given for reference to the judge and the court. But while this may seem straightforward, mistakes can easily occur.
Check exhibit stickers for accuracy
The first step to correctly use exhibit stickers is to ensure that they’re accurate. All you need is for even one sticker to contain the wrong information, and your evidence cannot be admitted during the hearing, even if it is otherwise relevant and important to the case being discussed. Take a few minutes to double-check each sticker before affixing it to your documents or evidence. Be sure to check both the document identification number on the sticker as well as the information for the box on the sticker. The identification numbers are especially important, as they provide critical information regarding what order the evidence or document has been entered into the record.
Attach the exhibit stickers securely
After you have ensured your stickers are correct , it’s time to secure them to your documents. The best method for affixing your exhibit stickers is with tape. Gon Printing recommends using Scotch tape, because you can easily cut it to size for the sticker, ensuring a secure fit on your documents. But even if you don’t have Scotch tape, you can still use any clear tape to secure your stickers to your documents securely. Another option is to use glue, though it’s not advisable if you’re not entirely sure whether your type of evidence can handle it without being damaged.
Be certain exhibit stickers are easily seen
No matter how you affix your exhibit stickers, make sure that they are easy for the judge to see and read, and that they are not covered up by binding. Binding could be anything from spiral binding on notebooks to three-ring binders, which is a common way of organizing exhibits for some courts. If your exhibits are combined in a binder, you might have to leave the top of the sticker exposed to the binding for easy identification. Check with the court to make sure you adhere to their specific rules in this regard.

Exhibit Sticker Etiquette

Best Practices for Exhibit Stickers
By now you understand how important exhibit stickers are for properly preparing for court proceedings. You know where to put them, what to include and how to categorize them by case type.
But there’s still some best practices to follow when it comes to using them for your filings.
The first is to use blank labels that fit all the documents and stickers. They’re available in all standard sizes, and allow you to print on any color label. This means you don’t have to worry about scouring your supply of colored sticky labels before every trial, you just have to worry about printing the numbers onto them.
These blank exhibit stickers come in a variety of materials, colors and sizes. This means you can use them across numerous case types, including Property Damage or Subrogation matters.
Next, be sure to use the same colored labels for every case type. While different courts will allow different colored stickers, it’s best if you color-code your cases for ease of review during trial preparations.
Organize your exhibits by case type. This means that all of the exhibits for your Toxic Tort, for example, should be in binders and organized by language. This allows you to easily find your exhibits during your pretrial conference as well as in court.
Finally, avoid some of these common mistakes:
Using colored tabs instead of colored stickers. Stickers are what is required by the courts.
Not numbering stickers by the date filed.
Overlapping stickers. This creates double numbers, which are often seen by the courts as clearing as a document error.
Not removing stickers after making copies.
Using stickers that can’t be read.

Where To Buy Exhibit Stickers

Exhibit stickers can be purchased from a variety of sources. The first stop for most legal professionals is office supply stores. National and local chains/super stores often carry basic legal form supplies including exhibit stickers. These chains are usually the first resource people turn to when they need to purchase supplies. There may be other suppliers in your area, including print shops, legal suppliers and stores that specialize in legal forms. Some of these may be worth checking out for better pricing or selection but it is wise to check their legitimacy with your local bar association or professional legal society before trusting them.
If these local resources don’t meet your needs for exhibit stickers , you can also purchase them through the internet. Most likely, the search engine you use will give you a broad listing of relevant suppliers but here are some suggested sources that should be of interest:
These are only a few of the many options available for purchasing exhibit stickers. Most legal supply and form companies will carry them. And the internet is an excellent resource for comparing pricing on a wide array of suppliers, both on and offline. Membership in professional organizations and bar associations can give you access to recommended suppliers and discounts.