Hearsay Evidence

In the event that a case goes to trial and does not end in a settlement outside of the court room, there
are a number of types of evidence that may be offered either by the plaintiff or the defendant to help
prove or disprove the allegations, depending on what side of the lawsuit one is on. One type of evidence
that is generally not allowed is hearsay evidence.

Hearsay is any statement made by a person outside of the courtroom that is being offered to prove the
truth of the matter asserted in the statement. So if Susie Bystander says after a car accident “The
red car hit the blue truck,” the statement is hearsay if it is being used by the driver of the blue
truck to prove that the red car hit the blue truck. The same statement may not be hearsay if it is being
offered to prove that Susie Bystander was conscious at the time of the accident.

Why The Hearsay Rule Exists

The rule against hearsay is in place to protect both the jury and the parties of the lawsuit from statements
that may or may not be true. If a party or witness says something in a court room, the jury is present
to hear the statement and the manner in which it was given. They are able to evaluate the witness’ demeanor
as well as the credibility of the witness. If, however, the statement is offered by a witness who heard
the statement made by another person outside of the courtroom, the jury is unable to evaluate the demeanor
of the declarant when the statement is made.

Another reason for the rule against hearsay is the lack of possibility of cross examination. As a cornerstone
of the adversarial trial system, removing cross examination creates many problems for the whole trial.
The most important problem is that without cross examination it is very difficult to verify or get the
full story behind a statement.

Despite the rule against hearsay, there are more than 20 exceptions or exemptions that allow out-of-court
statements into the court. These statements have been deemed so important and so basic that the infirmities
of hearsay are mitigated, despite the statements not being subject to cross examination at the time
of their being said.

Contact a Harrisburg Personal Injury Attorney

If you have been injured in an accident, >contact the Harrisburg personal injury attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams at 610-667-7511.