Rumors when sued for debt

“Hearsay” is one of the most famous words in legal jargon, though to some extent it is being replaced on television by “he said, she said.” What exactly is a rumour? Why is it objectionable? And is there any way that rumors can become evidence?

Definition of “heard”

The actual legal definition of hearsay is pretty easy. It is an extrajudicial statement that is intended to be introduced as evidence (in court) as proof of the truth of what was said. Let’s break that down a bit.

The right to face your accuser

The hearsay ban stems from the ancient right (in US law) to confront accusers. If the accuser is allowed to make a statement out of sight of the jury considering it, without being cross-examined to establish context and credibility, he has not been allowed to face his accuser. With some exceptions, that will not be allowed if you object.

An extrajudicial declaration is usually a rumor

An extrajudicial statement means that someone said it outside the courtroom in question. That means the statement was made by someone who usually did not do so under oath (although he could have said it in another court, under oath) in the presence of the people who must now decide whether it was true or not.

An example of rumor

Here’s a simple example: Jane comments to a friend one day that “that guy must be over six feet tall!” Bob heard her comment and later, while trying to prove that Joe is over six feet, he testifies that “Jane said she must be over six feet.”

Can you see how that would be a rumor? Bob offers Jane’s comment as evidence that Joe is taller than six feet, but the court (or jury, as the case may be) can’t watch Jane to see if she looks like she’s lying or if she’s serious. . And the person trying to prove that Joe is 5’2″ can’t quiz Jane to see if she thinks she’s good at guessing people’s heights, if the lighting was good, the perspective was real, or if that might have been the Joe’s brother Schmoe instead So the statement is hearsay if used to prove how tall Joe was.

not hearsay

But what if it is used to prove that Jane was alive and able to communicate that day? So it’s not being used to test how tall Joe was. Rather, it is being used to prove something that the person taking the test can be questioned about and the jury can decide the truth. If the question involves when Jane was kidnapped, for example, the fact that she was seen and was able to make offhand comments could be crucial. The defendant may carefully ask Bob how well he saw Jane, if she seemed comfortable, etc. So the statement would not be a rumor for that purpose.

So you can see that the “hearsay” involves both a person outside of court and a purpose for the use of the testimony. And rumors can be written or spoken, it doesn’t matter as far as the rule is concerned.

A hearsay example of debt law

Now let’s take a likely example from the debt law context (although the most common will involve business records, a topic for another day). If Bill Collector is testifying that he “verified” his debt by calling John Doe Creditor when he requested verification, the statement is no rumors about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requirement that verification be done. But if Bill tries to present John Doe’s statement as proof that you do, in fact, owe the money, they are hearsay because the jury or judge would need to see John Doe to decide if he is speaking truthfully and accurately about you.

One Final Twist: “Admissions” Party

There’s one final twist to the rumor rule that you should be aware of, called “party admissions.” That rule makes statements made by a party to the lawsuit, even if made out of court, not hearsay if they are offered to be used against that party. So if you admit to a debt collector that you owe money during an angry phone call, you may hear that statement again in court. Another good reason to be very careful when talking to debt collectors.

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