What does FRE 801(d)(2) cover?

What does FRE 801(d)(2) cover?

• A. Hearsay statements offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted by a party opponent.
• B. Statements by a party or their agent offered for impeachment only.
• C. Statements by a party or their agent offered against that party.
• D. A non-party statement offered against a party.

Answer: (C)

Not hearsay when the declarant is a party opponent. Under FRE 801(d)(2), a statement is not hearsay if the person who made it is a party-opponent or someone acting on behalf of the party, and the statement is offered against that party. This includes the party’s own statements and statements by the party’s agent or employee within the scope of the relationship, and these statements can be used as evidence of the truth of the matter asserted (substantive evidence) as well as for impeachment. So the key idea is that admissions by the party or by someone authorized to speak for the party are treated as non-hearsay when offered against that party. The other options don’t fit: describing these as hearsay because they are used to prove truth ignores that this rule makes them non-hearsay; limiting the rule to impeachment ignores that these admissions can be used substantively; and referencing a non-party statement misses the requirement that the declarant be the party or their agent.

Not hearsay when the declarant is a party opponent. Under FRE 801(d)(2), a statement is not hearsay if the person who made it is a party-opponent or someone acting on behalf of the party, and the statement is offered against that party. This includes the party’s own statements and statements by the party’s agent or employee within the scope of the relationship, and these statements can be used as evidence of the truth of the matter asserted (substantive evidence) as well as for impeachment.

So the key idea is that admissions by the party or by someone authorized to speak for the party are treated as non-hearsay when offered against that party. The other options don’t fit: describing these as hearsay because they are used to prove truth ignores that this rule makes them non-hearsay; limiting the rule to impeachment ignores that these admissions can be used substantively; and referencing a non-party statement misses the requirement that the declarant be the party or their agent.