09/30/2019
The word "hearsay" is being thrown about in the media recently. From the way it is being used, many people do not understand what hearsay is--and what it is not.
What is hearsay?
Simply put, hearsay is a statement made by someone out of court which is offered as evidence to prove the truth of a matter asserted in a trial.
An example: "John Doe told me he killed Sam Smith." At John Doe's trial, that may be considered hearsay.
Another example: A sworn affidavit is considered hearsay.
Therefore, hearsay is only relevant in court proceedings. Or, in the current context of the current news cycle, in impeachment proceedings, which are considered to be in nature a grand jury or trial.
Is hearsay unreliable?
No. For the purposes of court, it may be.
Is hearsay excluded during investigations?
No. In fact, while few prosecutors would consider taking to trial a case consisting only of hearsay, it is generally and widely used during investigations and may be what is necessary to launch an investigation.
Do courts allow hearsay as evidence?
That is a very complicated question. Every state has numerous exceptions to the hearsay rule. Georgia has 23 exceptions. That means there are 23 categories of hearsay which are allowed into evidence at trial. Some of those exceptions include public records and business records, statements against the interest of the person making the statement, prior inconsistent statements and dying declarations [i.e.: "John Doe shot me," made by Sam Smith just before he dies.
So, technically, any statement made outside of a court hearing is hearsay. If a person making that out-of-court statement is available to testify at the eventual trial, that out-of-court statement is considered to be NOT hearsay.
That is an exceptionally brief and incomplete primer on a complex issue which takes up hundreds of pages in law books. But, when someone says a statement is hearsay, it only means it is a statement someone has made who is not a sworn witness on the witness stand in court.
IOW, everything you are likely to say or hear anyone else say today is hearsay.
