Hearsay Flashcards
Is evidence produced by a dog hearsay?
Evidence generated by a machine or an animal is not hearsay, and is admissible without qualifying under a hearsay exception.
Are judgments of acquittal admissible in subsequent legal proceedings to prove the defendant did not commit the criminal act?
Evidence of a judgment of acquittal introduced in a subsequent legal proceeding to prove that the defendant did not commit the criminal act is hearsay; it is an out-of-court statement of the court or jury that is offered for its truth. Although there is an exception to the hearsay rule for judgments of conviction, there is no such exception that allows for the admission of a judgment of acquittal
Are report generated by machines considered hearsay?
Evidence generated by a machine, such as an automatically generated time stamp on a fax, a printout of results of computerized telephone tracing equipment, and raw data (such as blood-alcohol level) generated by a forensic lab’s diagnostic machine, is not hearsay.
do affidavits fall under any hearsay exceptions?
The affidavit is an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted, or hearsay. An affidavit does not qualify as former testimony because it is not given during a hearing or deposition and there is no opportunity for the other party to cross-examine the individual providing the affidavit.
Adoptive admissions elements
An adoptive admission is a statement of another person that a party expressly or impliedly adopts as his own. Silence in response to a statement is considered an adoptive admission if: (i) The person was present and heard and understood the statement; (ii) the person had the ability and opportunity to deny the statement; and (iii) a reasonable person similarly situated would have denied the statement.
Prior inconsistent statements made under oath
A prior inconsistent statement made under oath at a trial, hearing, or deposition is considered nonhearsay, and is admissible to impeach the declarant’s credibility and as substantive evidence. The witness’s credibility may be called into question by showing that the witness has previously made a statement that is materially inconsistent with some part of her current testimony. Further, when that statement was made under oath, it may also be used to prove the truth of the matter asserted
Does a statement made by a witness and not the officer contained within a police report become admissible as a business record?
Although a police report can qualify under the business records exception, a statement made by a witness that is contained in the report does not generally qualify because the witness is not acting on behalf of the police in making the statement. The statement may, however, qualify as an opposing party’s statement, which is a statement made by a party to the current litigation and is not hearsay if it is offered by an opposing party
