That type of reporting of statements is not considered hearsay because it is directly observed evidence about the defendant, made under oath. It is not treated as evidence that the defendant was in that other city, but as evidence that they said they were. It can be used to challenge the trustworthiness of the defendant’s later statements saying that they weren’t, for example. The witness can be cross-examined to find flaws in their testimony, other witnesses to the conversation can be brought in, and so on.
Hearsay is about things that are reported to the witness. If Alice testifies that Bob said he saw the defendant in the other city, the court could in principle investigate the fact of whether Bob actually said that, but that would be irrelevant. Bob is not on trial, was not under oath, cannot be cross-examined, and so on.
I am aware of the excuses used to define it as not hearsay, even though it is clearly the same as all other cases of such. Society simply believes it is a valuable enough scenario that it should be included, even though it is still weak evidence.
Whether something is hearsay is relative to the proposition in question.
When Charlie testifies that Bob said that he saw Alice at the club, that’s hearsay when trying to establish whether Alice was at the club, or was alive at all, or any other facts about Alice. Charlie is not conveying any direct knowledge about Alice.
It is not hearsay in establishing many facts about Bob at the time of the conversation. E.g. where Bob was at the time of the conversation, whether he was acquainted with Alice, or many other such propositions. It also conveys facts about Charlie. Charlie’s statement conveys direct knowledge of many facts about the conversation that are not dependent upon the veracity of Bob’s statements, and are therefore not hearsay in relation to them.
That type of reporting of statements is not considered hearsay because it is directly observed evidence about the defendant, made under oath. It is not treated as evidence that the defendant was in that other city, but as evidence that they said they were. It can be used to challenge the trustworthiness of the defendant’s later statements saying that they weren’t, for example. The witness can be cross-examined to find flaws in their testimony, other witnesses to the conversation can be brought in, and so on.
Hearsay is about things that are reported to the witness. If Alice testifies that Bob said he saw the defendant in the other city, the court could in principle investigate the fact of whether Bob actually said that, but that would be irrelevant. Bob is not on trial, was not under oath, cannot be cross-examined, and so on.
I am aware of the excuses used to define it as not hearsay, even though it is clearly the same as all other cases of such. Society simply believes it is a valuable enough scenario that it should be included, even though it is still weak evidence.
Whether something is hearsay is relative to the proposition in question.
When Charlie testifies that Bob said that he saw Alice at the club, that’s hearsay when trying to establish whether Alice was at the club, or was alive at all, or any other facts about Alice. Charlie is not conveying any direct knowledge about Alice.
It is not hearsay in establishing many facts about Bob at the time of the conversation. E.g. where Bob was at the time of the conversation, whether he was acquainted with Alice, or many other such propositions. It also conveys facts about Charlie. Charlie’s statement conveys direct knowledge of many facts about the conversation that are not dependent upon the veracity of Bob’s statements, and are therefore not hearsay in relation to them.