Evidence Question - Statement by Party Opponent Forum

[GunnerBingo]

First Issue:

Under FRE 801(d)(2) can a party testify to his own out of court statement?

I understand that in most cases where a party's out of court statement is at issue there will be another applicable hearsay exception or the language will be legally operative, etc. However, I was wondering if a party is generally allowed to testify about statements he previously made for their truth?

Separate Issue:

If a party testifies (using FRE 801(d)(2)) about the party opponent's out of court statement, and that statement was never made, then would the opposing party be able to testify to his own "actual" statement as impeachment by contradiction so long as the contradiction was independently relevant?

Is this how he-said-she-said issues are typically dealt with in court? I.E. Both parties put in the out of court statements of the opposing party, and the parties then can put in their out of court statements, not for their truth, but to impeach the witnesses by contradiction?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[alphasteve]

You may need to read 801(d)(2) if you think your first scenario makes sense.