what is hearsay evidence

Hearsay evidence is an out-of-court statement that is offered in court to prove the truth of the matter asserted. It is generally inadmissible unless it falls within an exception to the hearsay rule. Hearsay can include both oral and written statements and is not admissible to prove the truth of the matter stated. The reason for this is that when the person being quoted is not present, it becomes difficult to establish the statement's credibility. However, there are several exceptions to the hearsay rule, such as the "excited utterance" exception and the "opposing party statement" exception, which allow certain hearsay statements to be admitted as evidence under specific circumstances