Assignment Problem: When informants give police a tip about an investigation, police officers may be asked to testify about the nature and content of the tip at a subsequent criminal trial. If the testimony is given to show the "course of the investigation" it is not hearsay because it is not introduced to prove the truth of the facts in the tip, but only to show how the officers conducted their investigation. However, if the officer's testimony is used as part of the prosecution's case against the defendant, it is hearsay, because in such a case it is offered to prove the truth of the statement. The testimony would need to come directly from the informant if that information was to be used during the case. Every defendant has a constitutional right to cross-examine his/her accusers/witnesses. If the officer testified on behalf of the informant (which would not be allowed), the defendant cannot cross-examine the informant.
For this assignment, use your creative writing and thoughts and create an investigation using names and circumstances. Included in this assignment would be statements to various individuals. Then, identify which statements would be hearsay AND indicate how it would not be hearsay if gone to court. See below for a brief example:
John and Bill are working on a car in Bill's driveway. John sees two people break the front door window of the house across the street. Bill hears the window break and both John and Bill see the two suspects reach inside the broken window and unlock the door. A short time later, the suspects leave the house carrying a laptop computer and drive away. John and Bill talk about this for a second and Bill tells John that laptop was gray in color. John did not see the color of the laptop because he was focusing on the suspect's faces. When the police arrive, they are interviewed separately. The suspects are later arrested and go to court.
In court, John tells the court that Bill told him the laptop was gray in color. The defense attorney raises an objection that John's statement is hearsay. Is this correct? A better way of introducing the statement into court would be..... to have Bill testify directly. Why is the color of the laptop important? When the police made a traffic stop on a vehicle matching the description, they saw a gray laptop in the backseat which led them to further their investigation.