There’s a lot of nuance to the criminal justice system. While you can rely on your attorney to help you navigate them, it’s also beneficial to have your own basic understanding so that you can meaningfully participate in building your criminal defense. One often misunderstood rule of evidence that comes up in criminal cases is hearsay.
What is hearsay?
Hearsay is an out of court statement presented in court for purposes of proving the truth of matter asserted in that statement. For example, if John testifies that Sally told him that she saw the defendant commit the crime in question, that’s hearsay since the statement is intended to prove that Sally in fact saw the defendant commit the crime in question.
Hearsay won’t be admitted into evidence if it’s properly objected to, but the onus is on the opposing party to raise that objection. So, you’ll have to listen closely to witness testimony to ensure that you raise proper objections when necessary.
Are there exceptions to the hearsay rule?
Yes. There are several. For example, you might be able to get hearsay into evidence if the statement in question was made at the time an event was observed and the statement is about that event. Or if the statement was made to a medical provider, then the court might find that there was no motivation to lie when seeking treatment for oneself, so the hearsay statement should be deemed reliable. There’s a whole host of other exceptions that you might be able to utilize, so be sure to discuss them with your attorney.
Use the rules of evidence to your advantage
There are a lot of different legal strategies you can utilize to build your criminal defense. But you have to know about them to be able to use them. So, make sure you have a thorough conversation with your attorney about the best way to build the effective criminal defense that you need.