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hearsay definition - legal

n

An out of court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted. Testimony of a witness as to statements made by another individual who is not present in the courtroom to testify; generally not admissible because of unreliability (the hearsay rule), but there have been many significant exceptions to the rule, where there are certain indicia of reliability. See also excited utterance.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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