Out of court, when asked to identify herself, the woman said, 'I am the pope.' There is little question that the purpose of introducing that statement as evidence is not to convince the judge or jury that the woman actually is the pope the truthfulness of the statement is irrelevant. Suppose a hearing is held to determine a woman's mental competence. If an attorney wishes the judge or jury to consider the fact that a certain statement was made, but not the truthfulness of that statement, the statement is not hearsay and may be admitted as evidence. Not all out-of-court statements or assertions are impermissible hearsay. A witness pointing to a gun may be asserting, 'That is the murder weapon.' Even silence has been accepted as a statement, as when a passengers' failure to complain was offered to prove that a train car was not too cold ( Silver v. A nodding of the head may be a silent assertion of the word yes. Essentially anything intended to assert a fact is considered a statement for the purposes of the Hearsay Rule. It may be a written or oral statement it also includes gestures. Thus, statements made out of court are perceived as untrustworthy.

Out-of-court statements hinder the ability of the judge or jury to probe testimony for inaccuracies caused by Ambiguity, insincerity, faulty perception, or erroneous memory. This is because statements made out of court normally are not made under oath, a judge or jury cannot personally observe the demeanor of someone who makes a statement outside the courtroom, and an opposing party cannot cross-examine such a declarant (the person making the statement). In keeping with the three evidentiary requirements, the Hearsay Rule, as outlined in the Federal Rules of Evidence, prohibits most statements made outside a courtroom from being used as evidence in court. (3) The witness is subject to cross-examination at the option of any party who did not call the witness to testify. (2) The witness must be personally present at the trial or proceeding in order to allow the judge or jury to observe the testimony firsthand. Three evidentiary rules help the judge or jury make this determination: (1) Before being allowed to testify, a witness generally must swear or affirm that his or her testimony will be truthful.

It is the job of the judge or jury in a court proceeding to determine whether evidence offered as proof is credible. A statement made out of court that is offered in court as evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.

Heretic synonym