Did somebody say Hearsay?

We’ve all heard of the term “hearsay” but what does it really mean? In the legal vernacular, hearsay is defined as an out of court statement (oral or written) by a person (referred to as a declarant) offered to prove the TRUTH of the matter asserted. In other words, a person can testify that they saw somebody run a red light and attempt to have that testimony offered as actual PROOF that the person in question in fact ran the red light. Another example would be if a declarant testified that they saw a man shoot another man with a pistol. Here, the declarant’s testimony cannot be admitted solely for the purpose of TRUTH that the man in question actually committed the shooting.

Confused? Don’t worry. Even the mightiest of lawyers around the globe have trouble differentiating what is and is not hearsay. Most times, when an attorney yells “objection!” during a trial, they are referring to a violation of the hearsay rule. Unless an exception exists, standard hearsay is inadmissible in court.

The exceptions to the hearsay rule is where all the fun is at. Whether a statement is or isn’t hearsay will depend upon the PURPOSE for which it is offered. The keyword here is PURPOSE. Many out of court statements (such as a piece of a conversation between parties) may look like hearsay at first glance, but are not to be considered hearsay if said statements are NOT offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted in the statement.

Statements made that go on to show things other than truth are often deemed admissible and therefore are not to be classified as hearsay.

The top ten most common exceptions to the hearsay rule are as follows:

Party Admission
Former Testimony
Forfeiture by wrongdoing
Statement against interest
Dying declaration
Excited utterance
Present sense impression
Statement of then-existing mental, emotional, or physical condition
Statement for purpose of medical treatment or diagnosis
Business and public records

These exceptions apply because TRUTH is not being offered when testimony is given and therefore are not to be considered hearsay.

The main reason why statements that are considered hearsay are not allowed in court is because they are simply not reliable. Often times it is one person’s word against another and therefore the truth of the matter asserted cannot be established on those statements alone.
Without the hearsay rule, trials would become one big finger pointing “he said, she said” accusation-laced free for all. As The X-Files’ Agent Fox Mulder once said, “The truth is out there.” The hearsay rule helps us get there.

Carbone & Carbone LLP, Martin A. Carbone, Esq., Attorney at Law

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