{"id":25585,"date":"2026-03-31T11:45:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/?p=25585"},"modified":"2026-10-20T03:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:05:51","slug":"hearsay-definition-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearsay Meaning: Legal Definition, Examples, and When It Is Admissible in Court"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What Is the Legal Definition of Hearsay?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/John-Webb-Headshot.png\" alt=\"Professional headshot of a middle-aged man in dark suit and blue tie against brick background.\" align=\"left\" width=\"250\" style=\"float:left;margin:0 20px 10px 0;height:auto\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courts.maine.gov\/rules\/index.html\">Maine Rules of Evidence<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/mainecourtrules.org\/evidence\/rule-801\/\">a statement qualifies as hearsay<\/a> when the declarant does not make it while testifying at the current trial or hearing. A party then offers it at trial to prove the statement is true. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/rules\/fre\/rule_801\">The Federal Rules of Evidence<\/a> define hearsay the same way. Understanding hearsay is essential for anyone facing criminal charges or trying to make sense of courtroom evidence rules.<\/p>\n<p>To define hearsay in plain terms, think of it as secondhand testimony. Hearsay is any statement a witness repeats from someone who is not present to be questioned. Hearsay hinges on one critical phrase: &quot;offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.&quot;<\/p>\n<div class=\"read_more_link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/\"  title=\"Continue Reading Hearsay Meaning: Legal Definition, Examples, and When It Is Admissible in Court\" class=\"more-link\">Continue Reading \u203a<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Is the Legal Definition of Hearsay? Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Under the Maine Rules of Evidence, a statement qualifies as hearsay when the declarant does not make it while testifying at the current trial or hearing. A party then offers it at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","category-maine-criminal-law"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hearsay Meaning: Definition &amp; Examples in Court<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth asserted. 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Learn the legal definition, exceptions, and when hearsay is admissible.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/social-image-logo-og.png","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Webb Law Firm","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/"},"author":{"name":"Webb Law Firm","@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a779c0cfb58df839ae19364412f5dc6"},"headline":"Hearsay Meaning: Legal Definition, Examples, and When It Is Admissible in Court","datePublished":"2026-03-31T15:45:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-20T07:05:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/"},"wordCount":3086,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/social-image-logo-og.png","articleSection":["Criminal Defense","Maine Criminal Law"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/","url":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/","name":"Hearsay Meaning: Definition & Examples in Court","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/hearsay-definition-law\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/social-image-logo-og.png","datePublished":"2026-03-31T15:45:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-20T07:05:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.webblawmaine.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a779c0cfb58df839ae19364412f5dc6"},"description":"Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth asserted. 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