Opinion ID: 455772
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Testimony of Agent Shumard

Text: 42 The appellants argue that DEA Agent Shumard's testimony concerning information he received from a fellow DEA agent in Florida about proposed landing sites in South Carolina is inadmissible hearsay. We find this argument unpersuasive. 43 Fed.R.Evid. 801(c) defines an out of court statement as hearsay if it is offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. However, an out of court statement is not hearsay if it is offered for the limited purpose of explaining why a government investigation was undertaken. United States v. Scott, 678 F.2d 606, 612 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 972, 103 S.Ct. 304, 74 L.Ed.2d 285 (1982); see also United States v. Hunt, 749 F.2d 1078, 1084 (4th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 53 U.S.L.W. 3880 (U.S. June 18, 1985) (No. 84-1481). In this case, Shumard's testimony was offered not for its truth but only to explain why the officers and agents made the preparations that they did in anticipation of the appellants' arrest. As such, it was not inadmissible hearsay. See United States v. Mancillas, 580 F.2d 1301 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 958, 99 S.Ct. 361, 58 L.Ed.2d 351 (1978) (Whether or not the ... statement was true, the fact that it was made would surely explain the flurry of investigative activity in three states the jury was soon to hear about. For this purpose, outlining the background of the investigation with the evidence not being offered to prove its truth, it could be said not to be nonadmissible as hearsay. (citations omitted) ).