Apr 30, 2018 - Litigation by Jack Hirsch
Motor vehicle accidents (like many other accident scenarios) are frequently decided on the basis of evidentiary issues. The value of effectively navigating evidentiary conflicts cannot be understated — generally speaking, skilled litigators understand the value of favorably resolving evidentiary conflicts. Doing so will almost certainly pay dividends further downstream in the litigation process. Perhaps the most commonly encountered evidentiary issue is that of hearsay evidence admission. In Arizona, the success of your motor vehicle accident and car accident claims can turn on the application of the hearsay evidence rule, so it’s worth considering the rule and its fundamental limitations. Let’s take a look. Arizona Law Prohibits the Admission of Hearsay Evidence According to the Arizona Rules of Evidence section 801, hearsay evidence is defined as a statement that: the declarant makes outside of the current trial or hearing, and is offered into evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted in the statement. If the declarant testifies about a prior statement and is subject to cross-examination, or if a statement is offered into evidence against an opposing party, then — assuming that certain additional requirements are met (see section 801(d)(1) and (d)(2)), the statement will not be considered “hearsay” despite having been made out-of-court. Sifting through this legalese can be rather difficult. Simply put, a hearsay statement is any out-of-court statement that is being offered to prove the content of the statement itself. For example, suppose that the defendant is attempting to minimize their liability by claiming that another […]