That’s hearsay! Non-lawyers love throwing around the word “hearsay,” but do they really know what it means? Probably not. Hearsay is an out of court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter being asserted. Try explaining that to your nine-year-old — maybe you will have better luck than I did. With that kind of definition, it is easy to understand why most non-lawyers are clueless. So let me try to explain it a little better. If someone comes into court and says something for the purpose of trying to prove that what they are saying is true, that statement would be hearsay.
For example, “He told me he was going to beat me up.” If you are saying this to prove that this is what he said, it is a hearsay statement. But if the statement is being offered for another purpose, such as to show that you were afraid of him when he said it, or that he was angry at you when he said it, the statement is not hearsay, because it is not being offered for its truth. In other words, it doesn’t really matter whether what he said was true. The statement is being offered by you to show his anger or your fear.
What about the statement, “I told her, yes, I’ll sell you the car for $5,000.” This is not hearsay. It is an act of independent legal significance. The statement is being made to demonstrate the fact that certain things were said or done, which in this case pertains to the formation of a contract. So it’s not hearsay.
In family law, when one spouse is testifying about something the other spouse says, in most cases the evidence is admissible as a “party admission,” which is an exception to the hearsay rule. “Respondent told me that if I divorced him, he would get sole custody of the kids.” This is admissible evidence.
So next time one of your friends throws around the word “hearsay,” chances are pretty good that she has no idea what she is talking about.
For all of your family law and business litigation needs, contact The Law Offices of Richard A. Marcus at 661-257-8877.