This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
Hearsay is basically an out-of-court statement that someone brings up in court to prove that what was said is true. For example, if a witness testifies "my neighbor told me the defendant ran the red light," that's hearsay because the witness is repeating what someone else said instead of what they saw themselves.
This rule says hearsay generally cannot be used as evidence in court. The reason behind this is fairness. When someone makes a statement outside of court, the other side never gets a chance to question them about it, challenge their memory, or test whether they were being honest. Courts want evidence that can be examined and questioned directly.
There are exceptions to this rule, though. Other evidence rules and court procedures spell out specific situations where hearsay can still be used, even though it's normally blocked. So while the general rule keeps hearsay out of court, it's not an absolute ban. If you're involved in a case and think hearsay is being used against you, or you want to introduce a statement that might count as hearsay, it's worth checking whether one of those exceptions applies.
