The Concept of Hearsay

Students are given hypothetical fact situations and asked whether the testimony offered would be hearsay. The exercise provides practice in applying the concept that an utterance is hearsay if it is offered to show the truth of matters asserted therein. It contains examples of utterances that are not hearsay because they are offered to show their effect upon the auditor, because they are legally operative language, or because they are offered as circumstantial evidence of the declarant's state of mind. Questions about the hearsay status of nonverbal conduct are also included. The exercise deals only with the concept of hearsay, not with exceptions to the hearsay rule.

90 minutes