For information about hearsay evidence that is admissible as an exception regardless of the availability of the declarant, see the related Evidence entry regarding Hearsay Exceptions.For information about hearsay evidence that is admissible as an admission of a party-opponent, see the related Evidence entry regarding Admission of a Party Opponent.The statutory exceptions that allow hearsay to be admitted into evidence are addressed in the following entries: 55 (1986) (declarant’s gesture, in response to officer’s question, of pointing to the drawer where knife could be found was nonverbal conduct intended as an assertion, and therefore inadmissible as hearsay). 273 (1993) (“Howell's actions of attempting to give Horton the tape player and later attempting to give him a twenty-dollar bill were nonverbal assertions also constituting hearsay”) State v. 320 (2002) (testimony from one witness about whether another witness had pointed anyone out in a mug shot book was inadmissible hearsay) State v. Pursuant to Rules 801(a) and 802, the prohibition against hearsay testimony also applies to nonverbal conduct of the declarant (such as a nod or gesture), if that conduct is intended as an assertion. For example, if a trial witness such as a law enforcement officer attempted to testify about what an eyewitness at the scene of the crime said that he or she saw, and that statement was offered to establish that the events transpired as the witness reported, the statement would be inadmissible hearsay unless another statute or rule authorized the admission of the statement. Hearsay is not admissible except as provided by statute or by these rules.Įvidence is “hearsay” if it is a statement (that is, an “assertion,” either oral or written), made by the declarant (i.e., the person who made the statement) at any time or place other than while testifying in court at the current trial or hearing, and the statement is being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Note: Rule 801(d) is covered separately in the next entry on “Admission of a Party Opponent.” "Hearsay" is 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. A "declarant" is a person who makes a statement. A "statement" is (1) an oral or written assertion or (2) nonverbal conduct of a person, if it is intended by him as an assertion. The following definitions apply under this Article:
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