Evidence of what someone said outside court, used to prove that what they said was true.
What it means
Hearsay is a statement made out of court that a party tries to use as evidence of the truth of what it asserts. As a general rule it is not admissible, because the original speaker cannot be cross-examined about it. Under the uniform Evidence Acts that apply in many Australian jurisdictions, there are numerous exceptions, for example for business records or admissions, that allow hearsay in defined circumstances.
How it's used
The magistrate excluded the witness's account of what a third person had told her as hearsay.
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