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MEANING OF HEARSAY

(1) Out-of-court statement


(2) Offered by the witness in court to prove
the truth of the matters asserted by the statement

Any evidence, whether oral or


documentary, and its probative value is not based
on personal knowledge of the witness but on the
knowledge of some other person not on the witness
stand. It also includes all assertions where, though
derived from personal knowledge, the adverse
party is not given an opportunity to cross-examine.

HEARSAY RULE

It states that a witness can testify only to


those facts which he knows of based on his
personal knowledge or those which are
derived from his own perception.
The hearsay rule is not limited to oral
testimony or statements; it applies to
written, as well as oral statements.
If a party does not object to hearsay
evidence, the same is admissible, as a party
can waive his right to cross-examine
Repeated failure to cross-examine is an
implied waiver

Independently Relevant Statements

Statements or writings attributed to a


person not on the witness stand, which are
being offered not to prove the truth of the
facts stated therein, but only to prove that
such were actually made.
They are called as such because the
statements are admissible for some
relevant reason independent of their truth
or falsity
These are statements which are relevant
independently of whether they are true or
not. They are neither hearsay nor an
exception to the hearsay rule as the
purpose thereof is not to prove the truth of
the declaration or document
These are not hearsay and thus admissible
classifications of independently relevant
statements:
o 1. Those statements which are the
very facts in issue;
o 2. Those statements which are
circumstantial evidence of the fact
in issue. It includes the following:
a. Statements of a person
showing his state of mind,
that is, his mental
condition, knowledge,
belief, intention, ill-will and
other emotions;

b. Statements of a person
which show his physical
condition, as illness and the
like;
c. Statements of a person
from which an inference
may be made as to the
state of mind of another,
i.e., the knowledge, belief,
motive, good or bad faith,
etc. of the latter;
d. Statements which may
identify the date, place and
person in question; and
e. Statements showing the
lack of credibility of a
witness.

EXCEPTIONS TO HEARSAY RULE


actually hearsay but exempted
(1) Dying declaration
May be oral or written.
Requisites for Admissibility
(1) Declaration is one made by a dying
person;
(2) Declaration was made under the
consciousness of an impending
death;
(3) Declaration refers to cause and
surrounding circumstances of such
death;
(4) Declaration is offered in any case
wherein his death is the subject of
inquiry;
(5) Declarant is competent as a witness
had he survived]; and
(6) Declarant should have died.

factors should be considered in determining


consciousness of impending death
(1) Utterances;
(2) Actual character and seriousness of
his wounds; and
(3) By the declarants conduct and the
circumstances at the time he made
the declaration, whether he
expected to survive his injury.

(2) Declaration against interest


Inability to testify means that the person is
dead, mentally incapacitated or physically
incompetent.
Mere absence from the jurisdiction does
not make him ipso facto unavailable.
Declaration against interest made by the
deceased, or by one unable to testify, is
admissible even against the declarants
successors-in-interest or even against third
persons

Requisites for Admissibility


(1) Declarant is dead or unable to testify;
(2) Declaration relates to a fact against the
interest of the declarant;
(3) At the time he made said declaration,
declarant was aware that the same was
contrary to his interest; and
(4) Declarant had no motive to falsify and
believed such declaration to be true.

person concerned must be a member of


the family of said person either by
consanguinity or affinity.

Other Admissible Evidence


(1) Entries in family bibles or other family
books;
(2) Charts;
(3) Engravings on rings;
(4) Family portraits and the like

This enumeration, by ejusdem generis, is


limited to "family possessions," or those
articles which represent, in effect, a family's
joint statement of its belief as to the
pedigree of a person.
A persons statement as to his date of birth
and age, as he learned of these from his
parents or relatives, is an ante litem motam
declaration of a family tradition.

(3) Act or declaration against pedigree


Meaning of Pedigree
(1) Relationship;
(2) Family genealogy;
(3) Birth;
(4) Marriage;
(5) Death;
(6) Dates when these facts occurred;
(7) Places where these facts occurred;
(8) Names of relatives; and
(9) Facts of family history intimately
connected with pedigree.
Requisites for Admissibility
(1) Declarant is dead or unable to testify;
(2) Declarant must be related by birth or
marriage to the person whose pedigree
is in issue;
(3) Declaration was made before the
controversy; and
(4) Relationship between the declarant and
the person whose pedigree is in
question must be shown by evidence
other than such declaration.
(4) Family reputation or tradition regarding
pedigree
Requisites for Admissibility
(1) There is controversy in respect to the
pedigree of any member of the family;
(2) The reputation or tradition of the
pedigree of the person concerned
existed previous to the controversy;
and
(3) The witness testifying to the reputation
or tradition regarding pedigree of the

(5) Common reputation


It is the definite opinion of the community
in which the fact to be proved is known or
exists. It means the general or substantially
undivided reputation, as distinguished from
a partial or qualified one, although it need
not be unanimous.
As a general rule, the reputation of a person
should be that existing in the place of his
residence; it may also be that existing in the
place where he is best known.

Requisites for Admissibility


(1) The facts must be of public or
general interest and more than 30
years old;
(2) The common reputation must have
been ancient, i.e. 30 years old;
(3) The reputation must have been one
formed among a class of persons
who were in a position to have
some sources of information and to
contribute intelligently to the
formation of the opinion; and
(4) The common reputation must have
been existing previous to the
controversy.

Q: What can be established by common


reputation?
(1) Matters of public interest more
than 30 years old;
(2) Matters of general interest more
than 30 years old;
(3) Matters respecting marriage or
moral character and related facts;
(4) Individual moral character.

Q: What are the reasons for the


admissibility of common reputation?
1. Necessity arising from the inherent
difficulty of obtaining any other
evidence than that in the nature of
common reputation; and
2. Trustworthiness of the evidence arising
from:
a. The supposition that the public is
conversant with the subject to be
proved because of their general
interest therein; and
b. The fact that the falsity or error
of such evidence could be exposed
or corrected by other testimony
since the public are interested in
the same.

(6) Part of the res gestae


It is a Latin phrase which literally means
"things done." As an exception to the
hearsay rule, it refers to those exclamations
and statements by either the participants,
victims, or spectators to a crime
immediately before, during or immediately
after the commission of the crime, when
the circumstances are such that the
statements were made as spontaneous
reactions or utterances inspired by the
excitement of the occasion, and there was
no opportunity for the declarant to
deliberate and fabricate a false statement
Admissible Statements
(1) Spontaneous statements - Statements
made by a person while a startling
occurrence is taking place or immediately
prior or subsequent thereto, with respect to
the circumstances thereof
(a) Principal act be a startling occurrence
(b) Statement made before declarant had
opportunity to contrive (spontaneous)
(c) Statement refer to occurrence in
question and attending circumstances
or that the statements must concern
the occurrence in question and its
immediate attending circumstances
(2) Verbal acts - Statements, which accompany
an equivocal act material to the issue and
give it a legal significance
(a) Principal act must be equivocal
(b) Act must be material to the issue
(c) Statement must accompany the
equivocal act
(d) Statement gives legal significance to
equivocal act
(e) Must be made at the time, not after,
the equivocal act was being performed
A dying declaration can be made only by
the victim after the attack while a
statement as part of the res gestae may be

that of the killer himself after or during the


killing.
A statement not admissible as dying
declaration because it was not made under
consciousness of impending death, may still
be admissible as part of res gestae if made
immediately after the incident.

(7) Entries in the course of business


Requisites for Admissibility
(1) Entries were made at, or near the time
of the transactions referred to;
(2) Such entries were made in the ordinary
or regular course of business or duty;
(3) Entrant was in a position to know the
facts stated in the entries;
(4) Entrant did so in his professional
capacity, or in the performance of duty
and in the regular course of business;
and
(5) Entrant is now dead or unable to testify.
If the entrant is available as a witness, the
entries will not be admitted, but they may
nevertheless be availed of by said entrant
as a memorandum to refresh his memory
while testifying on the transactions
reflected therein.
Business records are exempt from the
hearsay rule.
Entries in the payroll, being entries in the
course of business, enjoy the presumption
of regularity
How is regularity of the entries proved?
o It may be proved by the form in which
they appear as entries in the
books/ledgers. There is no need to
present for testimony the clerk who
manually made the entries. The person
who supervised such clerk is competent
to testify that:
1. The account was prepared
under his supervision; and
2. That the entries were regularly
entered in the ordinary course
of business

(8) Entries in official records


Requisites for Admissibility
(1) Entries were made by a public officer in the
performance of his duties or by a person in
the performance of a duty specially
enjoined by law;
(2) Entrant must have personal knowledge of
the facts stated by him or such facts
acquired by him from reports made by
persons under a legal duty to submit the;
and
(3) Entries were duly entered in a regular
manner in the official records.
Entries in official records, just like entries in
the course of business, are merely prima
facie evidence of the facts therein stated.
Entries in a police blotter are not conclusive
proof of the truth of such entries.
Baptismal certificates or parochial records
of baptism are not official records.
What is an official record?
o It may be a:
1. Register;
2. Cash book; or
3. An official return or certificate

(9) Commercial lists and the like


Requisites for Admissibility
1. Statements of matters of interest to
persons engaged in an occupation;
2. Statements must be contained in a list,
register, periodical, or other published
compilation;
3. Compilation is published for use by
persons engaged in that occupation;
and
4. Such is generally relied upon by them.

examples of commercial lists and the like


1. Trade journals reporting current prices
and other market data;
2. Mortality tables compiled for life
insurance;
3. Abstracts of title compiled by reputable
title examining institutions or individuals; or
4. Business directories, animal pedigree
registers, and the like.

(10) Learned treaties


Requisites for Admissibility
(1) Published treatise, periodical or
pamphlet is on a subject of history, law,
science, or art; and
(2) Court takes judicial notice of it, or
(3) Witness expert in the subject testifies
that the writer of the statement in the
treatise, periodical or pamphlet is
recognized in his profession or calling as
expert in the subject
When are learned treatises admissible?
1. When the court can take judicial notice
of them; or
2. When an expert witness testifies that
the author of such is recognized as
expert in that profession.
What are the examples of learned
treatises?
1. Historical works;
2. Scientific treatises; or
3. Law
(11) Testimony or deposition at a former trial
Requisites for Admissibility
1. Witness whose testimony is offered in
evidence is dead or unable to testify;
2. The testimony or deposition was given
in a former case or proceeding, judicial
or administrative, between the same
parties or those representing the same
interests;
3. Former case involved the same subject
as that in the present case, although on
different causes of action;
4. Issue testified to by the witness in the
former trial is the same issue involved
in the present case; and
5. Adverse party had an opportunity to
cross-examine the witness in the former
case.
grounds, aside from death, which make a
witness unable to testify in a subsequent
case
1. Insanity or mental incapacity or the
former witness loss of memory through
old age or disease;
2. Physical disability by reason of sickness
or advanced age;
3. The fact that the witness has been kept
away by contrivance of the opposite
party; or
4. The fact that after diligent search the
former witness cannot be found.
(12) Exception to the hearsay rule on examination
of child witness

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