Evidence Hearsay Import Flashcards
Hearsay approach
- Isolate the statement
- Determine who the declarant is (focus on the declarant, not the testifying W)
- Determine whether it is being offered for its truth (prove the matter asserted in the statement - trying to prove the contents of the statement?)
- Determine if u can get statement in under an exemption or exception
“out-of-court” means…
that the statement was not made by the declarant at the current trial or hearing.
Offered to Prove the Truth of the Matter Asserted”
3-step approach to determining whether a state- ment is hearsay:
• Find the statement.
• Determine what it is offered to prove. (Does the question tell you? If not, consider who offered the evidence and what it would be relevant to prove in that party’s case. That’s what the statement is offered to prove.)
• Given what it’s offered to prove, will the jury be misled if the out-of-court speaker (the declarant) was lying or mistaken? In other words, does it matter if the declarant was telling the truth?
If the answer is yes, it’s hearsay. If the answer is no, it’s not hearsay.
Since not offered for their truth, the following are not hearsay:
- Verbal acts and legally operative facts (e.g., words of contract or defamation).
- Statements offered to show effect on listener or reader (e.g., notice or knowledge).
- Statements offered to show what declarant believed to be true.
- Circumstantial evidence of declarant’s state of mind
- Impeachment
Statements that are NOT offered for their truth…
Are not hearsay - If not offered for its truth, it is not hearsay, such as:
1) Legally operative facts (e.g., words of contract or defamation)
2) Statements offered to prove effect on reader or listener (e.g., notice)
3) Statements offered to show what declarant believed to be true.
4) Statements offered as Circumstantial evidence of declarant’s state of mind (when a party is trying to prove someone’s insanity or knowledge)
5) Impeachment
Hearsay EXEMPTIONS -(Categorized as “Nonhearsay” Under the Federal Rules). AKA non-hearsay
Statement Falls Under the Hearsay Definition, BUT Nonetheless Categorized as “Nonhearsay” Under the Federal Rules:
1. Statement by an opposing party (also called “admission” of a party-opponent).
2. Certain prior statements by a Testifying Witness who is subject to X-examination (3 types):
2a. Prior inconsistent statement of testifying witness—when made under oath at a prior proceeding or deposition. To prove a prior inconsistent statement by extrinsic evidence, certain requirements must first be met. It is not enough that the prior inconsistent statement cast doubt on the witness’s credibility. Instead, the statement must be relevant to the case; i.e., it cannot be a collateral matter.
2b. Prior consistent statement of testifying witness—in certain circumstances when offered to rehabilitate an impeached witness
2c. Prior statement of identification of testifying witness (e.g., photo identifications)
In-Court Witness Can Be Hearsay Declarant
The testifying witness and the hearsay declarant can be the same person.
Admissable nonhearsay = Hearsay Exclusions (Two categories)
a. Prior statement by a witness who is testifyinig and subject to X-examination (3 types); And
b. Opposing party statement
Admissable nonhearsay: Prior Statements of Testifying Witnesses (3 types)
A prior statement by a testifying witness who is subject to cross-examination is not hearsay if:
• The prior statement is one of identification of a person as some- one the witness perceived earlier (even if the witness cannot remember making the identification);
• The prior statement is inconsistent with the declarant’s in-court testimony and was given under oath at a prior proceeding; or
• The prior statement is consistent with the declarant’s in-court tes- timony and is
(1) offered to rebut a charge that the witness is lying or exaggerating because of some motive (and the statement was made before any motive to lie or exaggerate
arose), or
(2) offered to rehabilitate a witness whose credibility has been impeached on some other ground (other than a general attack on the witness’s character for
truthfulness), such as an inconsistency or charge of faulty memory.
Admissable nonhearsay- Prior INCONSISTENT Statements of Testifying Witnesses:
W’s prior inconsistent statement - admissible if made while under oath at prior proceeding. (admisssible for evidence of truth and impeachment).
Admissable nonhearsay- Prior Statements OF IDENTIFICATION of Testifying Witnesses:
Prior Identification - Admissible if Declarant testifies at trial and is subject to Cross-examinaition.
Admissable nonhearsay- Prior CONSISTENT Statements of Testifying Witnesses:
W’s prior consistent statement - admissible if stmt rebuts harge of lying or exaggerating AND statement was made BEFORE the motive to lie/exaggerate arose.
Admissable nonhearsay: Statement by an opposing party (also called “admission” of a party-opponent)
Anything said by a party can be used against him by opposing party.
An opposing party’s statement (that is, a statement made by or attributable to a party and offered against that party) is not hearsay. Categorized as non-hearsay
a. A statement by or attributable to a party, offered against that party (need not be against interest). No personal knowledge necessary; the statement may be predicated on hearsay. may be in the form of an opinion.
b. Adoptive statements (e.g., party’s silence in the face of an accusation).
c. Vicarious statements (i.e., made by the party’s authorized spokesperson, agent, co-conspirator, etc.).
Types of opposing party statements
a. Judicial and Extrajudicial Statements: A party’s formal judicial statements (in pleadings, stipulations, etc.) are conclusive and cannot be contradicted during trial. A party’s informal judicial statements made during testimony and extrajudicial (out-of-court) statements are not conclusive and can be explained.
b. Adoptive statements (e.g., party’s silence in the face of an accusation).
c. Vicarious statements (i.e., made by the party’s authorized spokesperson, agent, co-conspirator, etc.).
Adoptive statement (silence)
For silence to be admissible as an opposing party’s statement, the following requirements must be met:
(i) the party must have heard and understood the statement; (ii) the party must have been physically and mentally capable of denying the statement; and (iii) a reasonable person would have denied the accusation under the same circumstances. silence in the face of accusations by police in a criminal case is almost never considered an admission of a crime.
Admission by party opponent: Vicarious Statements
Statements by another person are admissable against a party as an opposing party’s statement because of the relationship between them:
- Co-Parties—Insufficient Relationship: Statements of a party are not receivable against their co-parties merely because they happen to be joined as parties.
- Authorized Spokesperson: The statement of a person authorized by a party to speak on its behalf (such as a statement by a company’s press agent) can be admitted against the party.
- Agents and Employees: A statement by an agent or employee is admissible against the principal if the statement: (1) concerned any matter within the scope of their agency or employment, and (2) was made during the existence of the agency or employment relationship.
- Partners: After a partnership is shown to exist, a statement of one partner relating to matters within the scope of the partnership business is binding upon their co-partners.
- Co-Conspirators: Statements of one conspirator, made to a third party in furtherance of a conspiracy to commit a crime or civil wrong at a time when the declarant was participating in the conspiracy, are admissible against co-conspirators. The court must determine the existence of a conspiracy, and the party’s participation in it, by a preponderance of the evidence standard (meaning, “more probably true than not true”; see Preliminary Determinations, below, for more on the court’s preliminary determination).
- Privies in Title and Joint Tenants—State Courts Only.
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Vicarious statements by - Agents and Employees
- Agents and Employees: A statement by an agent or employee is admissible against the principal if the statement:
(1) concerned any matter within the scope of their agency or employment, and
(2) was made during the existence of the agency or employment relationship.
Vicarious statements by - Co-Conspirators
- Co-Conspirators: Statements of one conspirator, made to a third party in furtherance of a conspiracy to commit a crime or civil wrong at a time when the declarant was participating in the conspiracy, are admissible against co-conspirators. The court must determine the existence of a conspiracy, and the party’s participation in it, by a preponderance of the evidence standard (meaning, “more probably true than not true”; see Preliminary Determinations, below, for more on the court’s preliminary determination).
Admissable nonhearsay: Statements by or Attributable to Opposing Party
Statement made or adopted by a party to the action, or by: (i) a spokesperson authorized to speak on her behalf; (ii) her agent concerning a matter within the scope of the agency; (iii) her partner within the scope of partnership business; (iv) her co-conspirator in furtherance of the conspiracy; or (v) her privy in title (state courts)
A party may be held vicariously responsible for the statement of someone with any of the following relationships to the party:
Authorized Spokesperson: The statement of a person authorized by a party to speak on its behalf (e.g., statement by company’s press agent) can be admitted against the party.
Principal-Agent: Statements by an agent concerning any matter within the scope of her agency or employment, made during the existence of the agency or employment relationship, are admissible against the principal. Therefore, if a truck driver-employee has an accident while on the job and admits that she was negligent, this statement may be introduced against her employer even if she was not authorized to speak for the employer.
The statement can be attributed to the employer, provided (i) it was made while the person was employed by the employer (not before or after the period of
employment) and (ii) the statement related to the employment.
Partners: After a partnership is shown to exist, a statement of one partner, relating to matters within the scope of the partnership business, is binding upon her co-partners since, as to such matters, each partner is deemed the agent of the others.
Co-Conspirators: The Supreme Court has held that statements of one conspirator, made to a third party in furtherance of a conspiracy to commit a crime or a civil wrong, at a time when the declarant was participating in the conspiracy, are admissible against co-conspirators.
In contrast, statements of a party are not receivable against her co-plaintiffs or co-defendants merely because they happen to be joined as parties to the action.
Preliminary Determinations
Before admitting an out-of-court statement as a vicarious state- ment of an opposing party, the court must make a preliminary determination of the declarant’s relationship with the party against whom the statement is offered. the court must consider the contents of the statement, but the statement alone is not sufficient to establish the required relationship; there must be some independent evidence.
Under the Federal Rules, a statement by an opposing party offered for the truth of the matter asserted is:
Nonhearsay
Hearsay Exceptions - broad types
- Exceptions where the declarant must be unavailable to testify (5 exceptions).
- Exceptions where the declarant’s unavailability is immaterial
HEARSAY EXCEPTIONS— UNAVAILABILITY REQUIRED: Exceptions where the declarant must be unavailable to testify
- Former Testimony;
- Statement Against Interest;
- Dying Declaration;
- Statement of Personal or Family History;
- Statement Offered Against Party Procuring Declarant’s Unavailability