Exercise Answers: Applying the Hearsay Rule

  1. Is it hearsay: no
    Is it admissible:
    yes

  2. Is it hearsay: yes
    Is it admissible:
    yes, as a Business Entry
    Note: most documents are hearsay, but are also often admissible under the Business Entry Exception


  3. Is it hearsay: yes
    Is it admissible:
    yes, under Declaration of State of Mind

  4. Is it hearsay: no
    Is it admissible:
    yes
    Note: Hearsay is part of the Rules of Evidence, which apply to courts. Notice the first element: in-court testimony. This was not in-court, but was at an administrative hearing. The hearsay rule would not apply.

  5. Is it hearsay: yes
    Is it admissible:
    yes, under Declaration Against Interest

  6. Is it hearsay: no
    Is it admissible:
    yes

  7. Is it hearsay: yes
    Is it admissible:
    yes, under Present Sense Impression, or possibly Excited Utterance

  8. Is it hearsay: no
    Is it admissible:
    yes
    Note: Only statements, verbal or written, are hearsay. Conduct is not. Jerking the steering wheel to the left was conduct.

  9. Is it hearsay: yes
    Is it admissible:
    yes, under Dying Declaration, Present Sense Impression, or Excited Utterance

  10. Is it hearsay: yes
    Is it admissible:
    yes, under Business Entry

  11. Is it hearsay: yes
    Is it admissible:
    yes, under Exited Utterance or Declaration of Bodily Symptoms or Conditions

  12. Is it hearsay: no
    Is it admissible:
    yes
    Note: It's not in court!