Litigation terms
Hearsay
Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered in evidence to prove the truth of what it asserts — presumptively inadmissible, but riddled with exclusions and exceptions that decide what a jury actually hears.
The definition has two hinges. Out-of-court statement: anything said or written outside this testimony. For its truth: offered to prove the thing asserted is so. A statement offered for another purpose — notice, state of mind, its effect on the listener, or simply that it was said — is not hearsay at all, which is where half the courtroom argument actually lives.
Why it matters in practice
Litigation records are hearsay all the way down: medical charts, emails, police reports, deposition transcripts. What makes them usable is the exception map. Business records (FRE 803(6)) carry most documentary evidence. Statements for medical diagnosis or treatment (803(4)) carry much of the chart’s subjective content. Party admissions (801(d)(2)) aren’t hearsay at all — anything the opposing party said is fair game. Prior inconsistent statements given under oath (801(d)(1)(A)) come in substantively. And hearsay-within-hearsay (805) requires an exception for each layer — the patient’s statement inside the nurse’s note inside the hospital chart is three questions, not one.
Planning admissibility early beats arguing it late: for every key fact, know which document proves it and through which door it enters.
In the fact record
A fact record that ties each fact to its source document is, functionally, an admissibility worksheet — the hearsay analysis attaches to the source once and follows the fact everywhere it’s used.