After this year’s impeachment trial, you may find yourself sitting around the Thanksgiving table being peppered with questions from your family about the Texas Rules of Evidence. While you can’t be expected to explain all the nuances of hearsay over pumpkin pie, here are a few quick refreshers that you can use for Great-Aunt Clara’s questions and your own trial practice.
Hearsay and Relevance
As we all remember from law school, hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted. However, there are many reasons that something may be offered that aren’t for the truth of the matter asserted. Just because they aren’t being offered for the truth doesn’t make them irrelevant. For example, last month I celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary. If I offered an anniversary card from my husband where he wrote, “You’re the best wife in the world,” I would likely not be offering that card to prove that I am, in fact, the best wife in the world. I could be offering it to prove that my husband remembered our anniversary, as an exemplar of his handwriting, or simply to show that he still likes me. If those issues were relevant at trial, the card would be admissible. Just remember that if you are not offering something for the truth, be immediately prepared to explain for what purpose you are offering it and why it is relevant. Also, if you are offering something that is hearsay, Rule 803 has a whopping 23 exceptions. If you take a few moments to read through the rule, I guarantee that you will be reminded of an exception that slipped your memory.