What is 'hearsay' in legal terms?

Hearsay is defined as testimony in court regarding statements made by someone other than the witness testifying, which is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted in those statements. Essentially, hearsay involves repeating what someone else said, rather than providing direct, personal knowledge of an event or fact. This is significant in legal contexts because hearsay evidence is often inadmissible in court due to concerns about its reliability and the inability to cross-examine the original speaker. In contrast, personal knowledge refers to what the witness actually knows and has experienced firsthand, which is not classified as hearsay. Official records from law enforcement, while potentially valid forms of evidence, do not fall under the definition of hearsay, as they are not secondhand accounts. Similarly, physical evidence pertains to tangible objects in a case, which is also distinctly different from hearsay. The nature of hearsay brings into focus the importance of direct evidence and the dynamics of witness credibility in legal proceedings.