Evidence Rule 801

Rule 801. Definitions

For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a)Statement.--A statement is (1) an oral or written assertion or (2) nonverbal conduct of a person if the person intends it as an assertion.

(b)Declarant.--A declarant is a person who makes a statement.

(c)Hearsay.--Hearsay is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.

(d)Business.--A business includes every kind of business, institution, association, profession, occupation and calling, whether or not conducted for profit, and also includes activities of governmental agencies.

(e)Writing.--A writing consists of letters, words, numbers, data compilations, pictures, drawings, photographs, symbols, sounds, or combinations thereof or their equivalent, set down or recorded by handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, magnetic impulse, mechanical or electronic recording, or by any other means, and preserved in a perceptible form, and their duplicates as defined by Rule 1001(d).

(f)Public Official.--A public official includes an official of the United States, its territories, the District of Columbia and states, as well as political subdivisions, regional and other governmental agencies thereof.
HISTORY:Adopted September 15, 1992 to be effective July 15, 1993; paragraph (a) amended September 15, 2004 to be effective July 1, 2005.