hearsay

Hearsay refers to information that one person reports about what someone else said, rather than directly witnessing or experiencing the event themselves. In legal contexts, hearsay is generally not admissible as evidence because it relies on second-hand accounts, making it difficult to verify the truthfulness of the statement. For example, if person A tells person B that person C saw a crime, B cannot typically use that information in court to prove what happened, because C’s firsthand account is not being presented directly. Hearsay can lead to misunderstandings and is often less reliable than direct testimony.