Nontestimonial Hearsay Law and Legal Definition
Whether hearsay evidence is testimonial or not will depend on the facts in each case. The test is whether the main purpose of the statement is to gather evidence for prosecution of the defendant. Nontestimonial hearsay is usually regarded as hearsay that falls under one of the following categories: a. A statement by a conspirator made during and in furtherance of the conspiracy. b. Any casual statement not made for the purpose of going in a record with a government agent or agency. This would include most statements not made to a government official that fall under the exceptions to hearsay under Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) 801(d)(2)(B)-(D),803(1) - 803(4), or(b)(3). c. “Business records,” which fall under FRE 803(6) - 803(8); 803(10), as long as the record was not created primarily for use as evidence.
