Hearsay Evidence In Pennsylvania Criminal Cases
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees people accused of crimes the right to a trial by jury without unnecessary delay. The court should schedule a trial shortly after the defendant enters a plea of not guilty. Even when the court does this, the court has the right to postpone the trial if the pretrial discovery process takes longer than the parties anticipated. During pretrial discovery, the prosecution and defense must disclose to each other the evidence that they plan to present at the trial. The parties may disagree about whether a certain piece of evidence is admissible at trial. When this happens, the parties have the chance to present arguments to the judge about whether it is or is not legal for the jury to see the piece of evidence at trial, and the judge must rule on this before the trial begins. No one except the jury is surprised by anything that happens during the trial. Excluding a piece of prosecution evidence could even cause the state’s case to fall apart, causing the court to dismiss the charges. One common type of inadmissible evidence is physical evidence seized during a search that violates the Fourth Amendment, but another common type is hearsay evidence. In some cases, though, the court may allow witnesses to present hearsay evidence to the jury. If hearsay evidence could determine the outcome of your criminal case, contact a Pittsburgh criminal defense lawyer.
Why Is Hearsay Evidence Not Usually Admissible in Criminal Cases?
Hearsay evidence is when a witness testifies that he or she heard another person say a particular utterance. It is usually inadmissible because it is difficult to corroborate or cast doubt on the credibility of the testimony. It is patently unjust to convict someone of a crime simply because of something that he or she allegedly said, or because of something that someone else allegedly said about him or her. Likewise, oral narratives rarely remain perfectly consistent across multiple retellings. The guiding principle is that, except in extenuating circumstances, hearsay is gossip, not legally admissible evidence.
In the News
Pennsylvania law generally considers hearsay evidence inadmissible at criminal trials, but it allows for juries to hear hearsay evidence when the content of the hearsay is important to the case and there is no other feasible way to convey it to the jury. For example, if the original speaker is dead or too ill to testify, the court may allow another witness to report what the original speaker said. Likewise, the courts try to avoid making children testify in court, especially about abuse that the children themselves suffered. A family member to whom the child spoke about the alleged crime may testify instead. Likewise, physicians may present testimony about assaults reported to them by patients when the patients were answering questions about their medical history.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Criminal Defense Cases
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if the prosecution wants to present hearsay evidence at your trial. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Source:
law.cornell.edu/regulations/pennsylvania/title-225/article-VIII
