LAW4323 Chap.8 The Hearsay Rule
The Hearsay Rule
Section 59 is purpose-driven. Identify the previous representation, maker, intended asserted fact and fact the party seeks to prove. The rule engages when evidence is tendered to prove that assertion. Non-truth uses such as notice still need relevance, and section 60 or a limiting direction may affect final scope.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Previous representations
- 02
Asserted facts
- 03
Truth purposes
- 04
Non-truth uses
- 05
Section 60
- 06
Use limitation
Worked example · free
A warning used twice
- 3Identify the assertion.
- 1Apply section 59 to truth.
- 1Analyse notice and scope.
Key terms
- Previous representation
- A representation made before current testimony.
- Asserted fact
- A fact the maker intended to assert.
- Tender purpose
- The evidentiary use advanced by a party.
- Section 60
- A provision affecting use after non-hearsay admission.
The Hearsay Rule FAQ
Is every out-of-court statement hearsay?
No. Section 59 depends on the intended asserted fact and tender purpose. A statement offered for notice or effect may not require its truth to be accepted by the tribunal.
Is calling a statement context enough?
No. Explain the non-truth fact the representation proves, why it matters to an issue, and the risk that the fact-finder will misuse it for truth.
When should section 60 be considered?
After identifying a genuinely relevant non-hearsay purpose and admission on that basis. Section 60 does not create relevance or erase statutory limits on its operation in the proceeding.
Exam move
Turn hearsay revision into representation mapping. For every spoken sentence, message, gesture, drawing or document entry, record the maker, exact representation, intended asserted fact, witness or exhibit proving it, fact to be proved and tender purpose. Write the asserted fact as a proposition that can be true or false. This exposes whether the party needs the fact-finder to accept the assertion as true.
Practise one statement with several uses: truth, notice, effect on a listener, maker's state of mind and credibility. Give each use a separate relevance explanation and section 59 result. Never use context as a complete answer. State what contextual fact matters and why it changes a fact in issue. For implied assertions, focus on what the maker intended to assert.
Compare a direct statement, a question, a greeting and conduct that conveys information without intending every inference later drawn. Use the assigned authorities to refine the intention analysis rather than adopting a blanket rule about implication. Build section 60 into the sequence only after a genuinely relevant non-hearsay purpose has been established and the representation admitted on that basis.
Record statutory limits and consider whether section 136 should confine use. Add a misuse column explaining the danger that a jury will accept the representation for truth despite a limited purpose. When a statement contains several propositions, divide it into clauses and map each asserted fact separately. Identify embedded representations in documents rather than treating the document as one speaker.
Competence and personal knowledge may become important at later exception stages, so record what the maker perceived and whether the witness merely repeats another person. During timed answers, open with representation, assertion and purpose before mentioning an exception. If the rule is not engaged because truth is unnecessary, prove relevance of the alternative use and address limitation.
If the rule is engaged, name the exception and test its conditions instead of calling the statement reliable. Review by covering your conclusions and asking whether someone can reconstruct the tender purpose from the preceding paragraph. If not, rewrite it. Finish with scope: which asserted fact, against which party and for which use. A statement admitted for notice is not silently a proof of the underlying event.
This mapping method also prepares the handover to first-hand exceptions, admissions, credibility and opinion, where the same representation may acquire new but still purpose-specific routes.
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