Rule 801

Question 1

Rule 801

Answer 1

Declarant – the person who said it

Statement – has to be an assertion

Hearsay means a statement that: (1) the declarant does not make while testifying at the current trial or hearing; and

(2) a party offers in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted in the statement.

801(d) are exceptions

Question 2

Must ask two questions to decide whether any particular out-of-court statement is hearsay:

Answer 2

1. Is the party offering the statement to prove (the truth of) what it says or was meant to say?
2. Did the declarant assert/mean to communicate that fact?

Question 3

Nonhearsay uses of out-of-court statements

Answer 3

1. Words offered to prove their effect on the listener
2. Legally operative words
3. Inconsistent statements offered to impeach

Question 4

Words offered to prove their effect on the listener

Answer 4

Saying “Joe is looking for you” when offered to prove the Defendant’s state of mind rather than the fact that Joe was looking for him. We don’t care if Joe really was looking for the Defendant.

Question 5

Legally operative words

Answer 5

Saying “I do” at the altar makes a marriage

If other conditions are met, saying “I accept” after an offer can create a contract

Saying “He’s a thief” in public can be slander

Question 6

Inconsistent statements offered to impeach

Answer 6

Saying “The light was red” and later “The light was green.”

Question 7

Declarative statements

Answer 7

things that on their face don’t look like assertions but might be

A command, question, threat, or exclamation

Question 8

Statements that can be hearsay: Oral statements

Answer 8

Look at outline for examples

Question 9

Statements that can be hearsay: Assertive conduct

Answer 9

I.e. Remember the Sea Captain example: not intended to be assertive, not trying to communicate, therefore not hearsay

I.e. James Schlisinger takes his family to a town where there’s a Nuclear Facility, his conduct is asserting that nuclear facilities are safe.