The Hearsay Rule

Book excerpt: The hearsay rule is for many the most difficult rule of evidence to understand and apply. This treatise on hearsay will be invaluable for students, practitioners, and judges -- for anyone involved with the law of evidence. It explains the basic concept of hearsay, using both time-tested and innovative new methods. It then explains hearsay exclusions and exceptions, including important exceptions found outside of the Rules of Evidence -- in the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure, for example. For each exclusion and exception, the book begins with a foundational approach, presenting the foundational elements the law student must know, the lawyer wanting admission must show, and the lawyer trying to block admission must defeat. Extensive "Use Notes" explain each foundational element and how to make it work for you. The author discusses important topics such as: the use of judicial notice as a hearsay exception; admitting the hearsay statement of an incompetent witness; using opinion evidence -- lay and expert -- to get around the bar of the hearsay rule; the problem of multiple hearsay (and ways to make the problem go away); and the special problems of state of mind evidence. The treatise focuses on ways in which the hearsay rules can be manipulated to advance the advocate's goals and on how many of the exclusions and exceptions interrelate. The final chapter addresses the hearsay rule and the Confrontation Clause. Most of these are topics not commonly addressed in other works. Pre-publication versions of this treatise have been used with great success by students at Harvard, the University of Virginia, Tulane, and Creighton, among others. This book will benefit anyone involved in the trial process, whether as a student, a lawyer, or a judge.