Rule 805 Hearsay Within Hearsay

When a statement contains two or more layers of hearsay, all of them need to qualify under a hearsay exception to be allowed in court.

For example, imagine a written report that quotes someone saying what another person told them. That is two levels of hearsay. Both the written report and the quote inside it must each have their own valid reason for being allowed as evidence.

If even one layer does not meet an exception, the whole thing gets kept out of court. Every part of the chain has to hold up on its own.