Also known as: hearsay within hearsay · hearsay included in hearsay · multiple hearsay · double hearsay
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A rule permitting admission of nested out-of-court statements when each component statement independently satisfies a hearsay exception or exclusion.
Hakeem Harris sued his insurer after a fire destroyed his warehouse. At trial his neighbor testified that Harris said the adjuster told him a company investigator had reported the fire chief's view that the blaze appeared deliberately set. Each layer of the statement met a separate exception, so the court admitted the testimony.
Horizon Dynamics sued Republic Steel after a parking garage collapsed. Subcontractor Heidi Henderson testified that her foreman told her a city inspector had warned Republic Steel about substandard rebar. Because each segment of the chain satisfied its own exception, the court allowed the full testimony into evidence.
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No. The rule allows the combined statement when every layer independently satisfies an exception.
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The proponent must demonstrate that each separate statement in the chain falls within a recognized exception or exclusion.
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Yes. Different layers may rest on different exceptions so long as each one qualifies on its own terms.
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The entire composite statement is excluded because the rule requires conformity at every level.
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…rule, it should be. He feels that is mandated by Rules 805 and 403. Rule 805 recites, in effect, that a statement containing hearsay within hearsay is admissible if each part of the statement falls within an exception to the hearsay rule. Rule 805, however, deals only with hearsay exceptions. A statement based on the personal knowledge…