Interesting Definition of Hearsay Forum

[helfer snooterbagon]

So Drew Peterson was found guilty of murdering his third wife.

Story at http://news.yahoo.com/jury-convicts-dre ... 58507.html

Found this bit interesting: "Hearsay is any information reported by a witness that is not based on the witness' direct knowledge"

Did they even consult a law dictionary?

[09042014]

So Drew Peterson was found guilty of murdering his third wife.

Story at http://news.yahoo.com/jury-convicts-dre ... 58507.html

Found this bit interesting: "Hearsay is any information reported by a witness that is not based on the witness' direct knowledge"

Did they even consult a law dictionary?

Sounds about right to me. Good enough for a layman.

[kalvano]

So Drew Peterson was found guilty of murdering his third wife.

Story at http://news.yahoo.com/jury-convicts-dre ... 58507.html

Found this bit interesting: "Hearsay is any information reported by a witness that is not based on the witness' direct knowledge"

Did they even consult a law dictionary?

I know plenty of smart law students who struggle with the legal definition of hearsay. It's close enough for the average reader.

[truevines]

So Drew Peterson was found guilty of murdering his third wife.

Story at http://news.yahoo.com/jury-convicts-dre ... 58507.html

Found this bit interesting: "Hearsay is any information reported by a witness that is not based on the witness' direct knowledge"

Did they even consult a law dictionary?

Sounds about right to me. Good enough for a layman.

Scenario 1:
A blind witness on stand: "I heard the killer starting his car. The car was a red Mustang."
Hearsay objection?

Scenario 2:
Counsel: "You spoke to the deceased the night before. What did you say to him?"
Witness on the stand: "I said 'I went to my mom's place this morning.'"
Hearsay objection?

[Kind]

So Drew Peterson was found guilty of murdering his third wife.

Story at http://news.yahoo.com/jury-convicts-dre ... 58507.html

Found this bit interesting: "Hearsay is any information reported by a witness that is not based on the witness' direct knowledge"

Did they even consult a law dictionary?

Sounds about right to me. Good enough for a layman.

Scenario 1:
A blind witness on stand: "I heard the killer starting his car. The car was a red Mustang."
Hearsay objection?

Scenario 2:
Counsel: "You spoke to the deceased the night before. What did you say to him?"
Witness on the stand: "I said 'I went to my mom's place this morning.'"
Hearsay objection?

Hearsay is: Evidence of an out-of-court statement, offered to prove its own truth.

Scenerio 1: Not hearsay. There is no out-of-court statement here. A statement must be an assertion that a fact or condition exists. A car does not make a statement. The only statement is that of the witness while testifying. A "lack of personal knowledge" objection would likely be tenable on these facts, however.

Scenario 2: Hearsay, (probably) though the witness actually has personal knowledge of the facts to which he is testifying. Here, the statement: "I went to my mom's place this morning" is an assertion, therefore a statment. It was made while the declarant (the witness) was out-of-court, that is, he was not testifying at this trial or hearing when he made the statement. If offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, it is probably hearsay.
If, however, the witness is a party, and the examining counsel is the opposing party's lawyer, then it isn't hearsay. Also, if the assertion (went to my mom's this morning) is being offerered for a non-hearsay purpose, then it isn't hearsay.



The difference between a FRE 602 lack of personal knowledge and a hearsay FRE 801 problem is the existence of an out-of-court declarant. See 801(b). Scenario 1 doesn't have an OOC declarant; Scenario 2 has the witness who also happens to be the OOC declarant. Interesting puzzle.

[Bildungsroman]

I demand complete legal accuracy and precision from yahoo news. I'd prefer that every article come appended with a copy of the relevant casebook.