Non-Verbal Communication can be Assertive:
- Non-verbal acts can be used to communicate
- It’s hearsay if the purpose of the non-verbal act is to communicate and the
communication is assertive
- Example: a witness testifies that when she asked X where his drug dealer lived,
X pointed to the defendant’s house
Conduct That is Not Meant to Communicate:
- If a person is engaging in conduct that is not meant to communicate, this would generally
not be treated as hearsay, as there’s no attempt to be assertive
- Example: a police officer showed the victim a group of photographs. When the
victim saw the photograph of the defendant, the victim gasped and began to cry
Statements Offered to Prove the Truth of that Statement:
- If an attorney can convince a judge that a statement offered for use in evidence is meant
to prove something other than the truth of that statement, the judge may rule that it’s
admissible for evidence
-
- The hearsay rule forbids only statements offered to prove the truth of the matter
asserted
- It doesn’t forbid something other than the truth of that statement
Removing Statements from Hearsay Classification:
The following examples illustrate only a few of the numerous other purposes that would
take an out-of-court statement out of the hearsay classification:
- Knowledge
- Feelings or state of mind
- Insanity
- Effect on hearer
- Independent rational significance
- The trial judge should instruct the jury that it must consider the evidence only for the
allowable purpose
What is Not Hearsay?:
- Federal rules of evidence 801 (d)(1), 801 (d)(2), and 801 (d)(2)(e)
- Besides being limited to assertions offered to establish proof of the assertion, the
hearsay rule doesn’t apply to various out-of-court statements that would
otherwise literally fall within the definition of hearsay
Prior Statement by a Witness:
If a witness testifies at a trial, and is cross-examined concerning an earlier statement
made by a witness, the statement isn’t hearsay if:
- Non-verbal acts can be used to communicate
- It’s hearsay if the purpose of the non-verbal act is to communicate and the
communication is assertive
- Example: a witness testifies that when she asked X where his drug dealer lived,
X pointed to the defendant’s house
Conduct That is Not Meant to Communicate:
- If a person is engaging in conduct that is not meant to communicate, this would generally
not be treated as hearsay, as there’s no attempt to be assertive
- Example: a police officer showed the victim a group of photographs. When the
victim saw the photograph of the defendant, the victim gasped and began to cry
Statements Offered to Prove the Truth of that Statement:
- If an attorney can convince a judge that a statement offered for use in evidence is meant
to prove something other than the truth of that statement, the judge may rule that it’s
admissible for evidence
-
- The hearsay rule forbids only statements offered to prove the truth of the matter
asserted
- It doesn’t forbid something other than the truth of that statement
Removing Statements from Hearsay Classification:
The following examples illustrate only a few of the numerous other purposes that would
take an out-of-court statement out of the hearsay classification:
- Knowledge
- Feelings or state of mind
- Insanity
- Effect on hearer
- Independent rational significance
- The trial judge should instruct the jury that it must consider the evidence only for the
allowable purpose
What is Not Hearsay?:
- Federal rules of evidence 801 (d)(1), 801 (d)(2), and 801 (d)(2)(e)
- Besides being limited to assertions offered to establish proof of the assertion, the
hearsay rule doesn’t apply to various out-of-court statements that would
otherwise literally fall within the definition of hearsay
Prior Statement by a Witness:
If a witness testifies at a trial, and is cross-examined concerning an earlier statement
made by a witness, the statement isn’t hearsay if:
