Chapter 12 - § 13.7 HEARSAY WITHIN HEARSAY

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 13.7 HEARSAY WITHIN HEARSAY

Colorado

➢ "Hearsay included within hearsay is not excluded under the hearsay rule if each part of the combined statements conforms with an exception to the hearsay rule provided in these rules." CRE 805.

➢ Where a Statement Contains Multiple Layers of Potential Hearsay, the court must analyze each layer separately to determine whether it falls within a recognized hearsay exception or exclusion. People v. Phillips, 315 P.3d 136, 160 (Colo. App. 2012) (voicemail with three layers of potential hearsay admitted).

➢ Public and official record exception in C.R.S. § 42-2-121(2)(c)(II) does not exempt official state records from CRE 805. Bernache v. Brown, 471 P.3d 1234, 1240 (Colo. App. 2020) (statements of witness contained in police report inadmissible).

Federal

➢ "Hearsay within hearsay is not excluded by the rule against hearsay if each part of the combined statements conforms with an exception to the rule." FRE 805.

➢ Business Record Containing Hearsay may be admitted only if the hearsay statement would independently be admissible under an exception to the hearsay rule. Felice v. Long Island R.R. Co., 426 F.2d 192, 196 (2d Cir. 1970); United States v. Knudsen, 320 F. Supp. 878, 880 (D. Wis. 1971).

➢ Same Principle Applied to Public Records. Fraley v. Rockwell Int'l Corp., 470 F. Supp. 1264, 1266 (D. Ohio 1979).

➢ A Witness's Recollection of the Contents of a Business Record is not admissible, where the

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