14. Hearsay Evidence
The criminal hearsay rule, statutory and common-law gateways, safeguards and application procedure.
How to study for BSB Criminal Litigation
Prepare for a closed-book assessment by linking every power, gateway, burden, procedure and appellate route to its place in the criminal case.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Hearsay is an out-of-court statement relied on as evidence of a matter stated and is admissible only through a recognised gateway.
Exam cue: Identify the statement, maker, matter stated and purpose for which it is tendered.
Concept 2
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 includes gateways for unavailable witnesses, business documents, interests of justice and preserved common-law exceptions.
Exam cue: Name the exact statutory or common-law gateway before applying safeguards.
Concept 3
Reliability safeguards, multiple hearsay, credibility material, discretionary exclusion, stopping the case and CrimPR notice requirements remain essential.
Exam cue: Separate admissibility from the later weight and jury direction.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Calling every out-of-court communication hearsay regardless of its evidential purpose.
Guardrail: Do not import a current-law change into the assessment merely because it post-dates the syllabus cut-off; use the latest BSB-issued syllabus or amendment for exam scope.
Using the interests-of-justice gateway without the statutory factors.
Guardrail: Do not import a current-law change into the assessment merely because it post-dates the syllabus cut-off; use the latest BSB-issued syllabus or amendment for exam scope.
Assuming gateway admission eliminates notice, credibility and fair-trial concerns.
Guardrail: Do not import a current-law change into the assessment merely because it post-dates the syllabus cut-off; use the latest BSB-issued syllabus or amendment for exam scope.
Memory anchors
Hearsay definition
An out-of-court statement used to prove a matter the maker intended to communicate.
Section 114 gateways
Statute, preserved common law, agreement or interests of justice.
Unavailable witness
Section 116 requires a qualifying reason and the statutory conditions.
Business document
Section 117 provides a structured gateway for qualifying records.
Procedure and safeguards
Give notice, disclose credibility material, address reliability and consider exclusion or stopping powers.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
A witness says, 'I heard a bystander say the driver jumped the red light,' and the prosecution relies on that statement to prove the light was red. Is it hearsay?
A threat is tendered only to explain why the listener fled, not to prove that the threatened act would occur. Is it hearsay for that purpose?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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