A statement is hearsay only if it is offered in evidence to prove that the fact asserted is true. If it is offered for some otherrelevant purpose, it is not hearsay. It is the obligation of the respondent to convince the judge that there is a relevant purpose for the statement other than as proof of the fact asserted. Common examples are:
(a) Notice. In a slip-and-fall tort case, a witness testifies that the week before plaintiff's accident, Mary told the defendant that his parking lot was slippery. The primary relevance of the evidence is to show that the defendant had notice of the dangerous condition, not to prove that the lot was slippery a week before the accident.
(b) State of mind of listener. The defendant is charged with knowing use of stolen credit card. He testifies that a friend told him "This is my card and you may use it." The evidence is offered to prove the defendant's state of mind (lack of mens rea), not that the card really belonged to the friend.
(c) State of mind of the speaker. In a will contest, the administrator offers evidence that the decedent said "I hate my youngest son who has become a drug addict." The evidence is offered to show the state of mind of the decedent and explain why he cut the son out of his will, not to prove that the son is really a drug addict.
(d) The statement motivates conduct. In a tort case, the defendant testifies that he was speeding because he had gotten a telephone call from the hospital informing him that his son was in the emergency room. Note that accusatory statements made by witnesses to the police ("the defendant did it") offered to show why the police investigated the defendant are non-hearsay only if there is some genuine issue concerning why the police investigated him.
(e) The statement motivates another statement. In conversations between two people when we are interested in what one of them says, the statements by the other are not offered for their truth but to give meaning to the primary person's remarks. For example, in a police interrogation, when the Detective says "We know you drove the getaway car," it is not being offered to prove the defendant did the crime, but to explain why the defendant said "Yeah I was driving. What kind of deal can I get."
