No discussion of evidence is complete without talking about hearsay. Rules for hearsay evidence may seem confusing, but they’re important to getting a fair trial in your case. Hearsay is something someone says out of court that’s offered to prove the truth of the statement. If a statement is offered for a reason besides proving the truth of the statement, it’s not hearsay.
For example, “When I was waiting for the police officer after the accident, I heard the man say that it was raining,” is a hearsay statement if you’re using the statement to prove that it was raining at the time. To admit the evidence, you need to call the witness to testify at the trial and ask them if it was raining. On the other hand, if you’re hoping to admit the statement to show that the witness was conscious and able to speak, the statement is not hearsay.