Chapter 3 - §1. Overview

• Jurisdiction: United States

§1. Overview

§1.1. Hearsay defined. Hearsay is defined as evidence of any statement of a person (referred to as a "declarant") made outside of a hearing or trial that is offered in that hearing or trial to prove the truth of the matter stated. Evid. C. §1200(a). See "Characterization of hearsay evidence," ch. 3-A, §3.

§1.2. Admissibility of hearsay evidence.

1. General rule. As a general rule, evidence that is considered hearsay is not admissible even if it is relevant. Evid. C. §1200(b). Hearsay evidence is generally considered untrustworthy and unreliable because the declarant's past out-of-court statement was not made at a time when the declarant's memory, perception, narration, sincerity, and veracity could be questioned. See People v. Seumanu (2015) 61 Cal.4th 1293, 1307. In criminal prosecutions, hearsay evidence is also generally inadmissible because the declarant is often unavailable for cross-examination by the defendant, which raises constitutional concerns under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. See "Right of confrontation & out-of-court statements," ch. 5-E, §3. For all these reasons, the reliability of hearsay...