Hearsay

[Scruit]

Relating to testimony in a criminal court regarding hearsay...

- Can I testify to statments made to me by another person who is not available as a witness in this case?

-- What if the statement is offered for it's truth? "John told me that Bob shot him just before he died."

-- What if the statement is offered for the simple existence of the statement? "John told me that Bob shot him just before he died." as a rebuttal to a claim that John was unconcious?


- Can I testify to statments made to me by another person who IS also testifying as a witness in this case?

-- What if the statement is offered for it's truth? "John told me that Bob shot him. John is alive and can testify here today."

-- What if the statement is offered for the simple existence of the statement? "John told me that Bob shot him." as a rebuttal to a claim that John was unconcious?


- Can I testify as to a statement that I made to another person? Does it matter of the person I spoke to is available as a witness?

[Stump]

What if the statement is offered for it's truth? "John told me that Bob shot him just before he died.
I didn't think this was hearsay.

I thought hearsay was "John told me that Bob said he shot Jane", 3rd party info. If you were standing there, and overheard someone saying something, then it is admissible.

I'm curious to hear what the lawyers say.

[mcsap]

John told me....is a dying declaration. Admissibility depends on other fcts.

Heresay is not permitted in a trial. ( some exceptions) As in a speeding trial where I introduce documents that the speed device was calibrated by Joe Blow Comapny without them being present.

Heresay is permitted at a preliminary hearing as long as it is limited and as long as the whoe crux of the case does not depend on the heresay testimony.

For a DUI pre-lim, I don't need the hopsital tech to testify about the blood tests.

In general , heresay is not permitted as the "statement" being said is heard and we all know how people hear things in a different way. Also, the person who said it isn't there to be cross examined under oath as to the statement. Neither side can use it in most cases.

[NorthCAL22]

I don't know if I can answer your question but here goes.
Hearsay is permitted under a few exceptions. Spontaneous Statements, admissions and confessions, dying declarations, official records, to impeach or rehabilitate a witness, and at preliminary trials. These are the only times you can testify as to what someone else said.
For your first example "John told me that Bob shot him just before he died" this would be admissible under a hearsay exception. I am not sure if you mean Bob died or John died. If John died and he told you Bob shot him then you could testify based on the dying declration exception. Now, if John lived and told you shortly after he was shot that John did it, you could testify based on the spontaneous statements exception. This exception is allowed if a traumatic incident occurs to the original party and they tell you shortly after it happened. So if John lived and did not show up at trial, you could testify to what JOhn said provided he told you contemporaneously (soon after) to the incident.
For your second example "Can I testify to statments made to me by another person who IS also testifying as a witness in this case," You can, provided you are testifying to impeach or coroborate a witness' testimony. So if John told you that Bob shot him and John was testifying at trial, you could testify as to what John told you to corroborate John's testimony.
I don't know if this answered your question but if you want me to elaborate on anything, let me know.

[Scruit]

So what if a guy walks up to me and says; "I'm gonna kick your a$$" and then steps towards me in a threatening manner... The key here is that a reasonable person woudl not have considered the attacker's actions *alone* to justify self defense, but his threat plus actions *would*. The reasonableness of the self-defense claim rests on proving that I reasonably believed I was going to be attacked.

So, given that the statement that the attacker made is pivotal to proving the reasonableness of my actions, coupled with the fact that testimony of that fact is generally considered hearsay...

- Can I testify that he threatened me if *I* am charged with assault and claiming self defense?

- Can I testify that he threatened me if he is charged with assault?


My best guess is that when opposing counsel objects to the testimony as hearsay, I'd have to convince the judge that the statement was an 'Excited Utterance', "Unless counel is suggesting his client attacks people with such regularity that it is no longer a stressful or unusual situation for him?"


My confusion is that hearsay is supposed to be inadmissable because of how easily I could lie in my testimony as to what he said - and his state of mind when he said the words have no bearing on my ability to flat out lie about what he said... Nor does his state of mind have any bearing on whether I make a genuine and good faith mistake in what I heard... Like right after a traffic accident he said; "I'm gonna BILL you for this crash!" and I heard; "I'm gonna KILL you for this crash!" Any statement right after a car crash could be covered by the 'excited utterances' exception.

[spyman]

Easy to understand definition.

HEARSAY - Secondhand information that a witness only heard about from someone else and did not see or hear himself. Hearsay is not admitted in court because it's not trustworthy, as well as because of various constitutional principles such as the right to confront one's accusers, however, there are so many exceptions that often times hearsay is admitted more than excluded.

A statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. -- 28 USC

Hearsay is any statement made outside a hearing or trial which is presented at the hearing or trial to prove the truth of the contents of the statement. All evidence rules begin with the premise that hearsay cannot be used in court because secondhand testimony is considered unreliable and because the person who made the original statement is often unavailable for cross-examination. Statements in the forms of letters, affidavits, declarations, diaries, memos, oral statements, notes, computer files, legal documents, purchase receipts and contracts all constitute hearsay when they are offered to prove that their contents are true.

Testimony during a hearing or trial is not hearsay unless the witness tries to repeat something someone else said or wrote. In addition, a statement introduced to prove something other than its truth is not hearsay. For example, testimony may be offered to show the speaker's state of mind.

Example: Dana and Bruce were fighting, and Dana shouted "Bruce, you are a lousy bastard." Marla heard the argument and was asked to testify at Dana and Bruce's divorce trial. Marla was permitted to repeat the statement "Bruce, you are a lousy bastard," because it is not hearsay. It was not introduced at the trial to prove that Bruce has lice or is an illegitimate child, but rather to show that Dana was angry.

A witness's earlier out-of-court statement may be presented at a trial or hearing if it contradicts his in-court testimony because the statement is being used to cast doubt on the witness's credibility rather than prove the statement's truth or falsity.

A great many exceptions to the hearsay rule exist and much hearsay tends to be admitted under these exceptions. Evidence which qualifies as exceptions is usually statements which are reliable and believed to be unfabricated. Some common exceptions are:



Utterances made at the time of a startling event which provoked the observer into speaking (for example, seeing one's spouse in bed with someone else);
Statements describing a current condition (for example, "I feel sick.");
Prior testimony from a hearing, trial or deposition;
Religious records, family records and marriage certificates;
Property documents (for example, deeds);
Statements made against one's own monetary or penal interest (that is, an admission of a crime);
Declarations made by someone who believes his death is imminent;
Business records made in the regular course of business;
Official records;
Ancient documents, and;
Court judgments.

[NorthCAL22]

like spy said the statements you heard are not hearsay. You directly witnessed the events so what you said is not considered hearsay. Hearsay is when a third party is told of what happened. An example would be that I heard a man say "I'm going to kill you." I then tell you what I heard. That is hearsay.


"My confusion is that hearsay is supposed to be inadmissable because of how easily I could lie in my testimony as to what he said "

You are right that hearsay is generally inadmissable because of how easily someone could lie in their testimony. However, the exceptions exist because the courts have determined that in certain circumstances people will not lie.

[Stump]

Originally posted by DC Law
Too many questions on the screen...not enough beer in the fridge.

Going to 7-11. Be back soon.

Did you get me a present???? I'd be ever so happy if you did.
:cheek_kis

[P01IC3M4N]

since you have the constitutional right to question all witnesses against you, hearsay isn't normally admissable. you cannot question one person about the statements made by another.