Rule 2:805 Hearsay Within Hearsay

Sometimes a piece of evidence contains two layers of out-of-court statements, one inside the other. For example, a police report might quote what a witness said at the scene. That gives you the report itself (one out-of-court statement) and the witness's words inside it (another out-of-court statement).

For this kind of evidence to be allowed in court, each layer has to qualify under its own hearsay exception. The report needs to fit an exception, and the quoted statement inside it needs to fit one too. If even one layer does not meet an exception, the whole thing can be kept out.

This rule matters if you are trying to use documents, records, or reports that contain quotes or statements from other people. You cannot just get the outer document admitted and assume everything inside it comes in too. Each part has to clear its own hurdle.