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by drtillberg 2918 days ago
A party admission is non-hearsay in the US courts.[1]

[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_801

1 comments

AKA the statement against self-interest exception...

I wasn't trying to give a lecture on the meaning of hearsay. But if you want to get didactic, the statement must be made by an opposing party and offered against them (i.e., is against their interests). A statement that is offered in support of an opposing party is, oddly enough, still hearsay. I have actually dealt with that issue in district court. This can happen in multi-party litigation, where you have cross-claims. For example, X, Y, and Z are parties to a lawsuit and have claims/counter-claims, cross-claims against each other. A statement by Y entered by X against Y would be admissible, but a statement by Y entered by Z could not be used in support of Y.