Why Is Hearsay Unreliable

Hearsay is a statement that was conceived outside courtroom in which information is used to verify facts that were proclaimed in a statement. Which is nothing more than information that someone was told by an individual about another individual or their actions. Hearsay usually ends up being rumors or gossip, which in a court of law, such information holds no merit and is deemed unreliable. One reason why hearsay becomes an unreliable source of testimony is the ability by interviewers, friends, family, and Dr.’s to alter witness testimony by means of suggestive interviews or statements. Once someone’s memory of an event is tainted by suggestive statements, it becomes impossible to determine whether or not what they might have heard or even seen the actual events or if it is merely suggestive memories. Also, with out-of-court statements, the more individuals that statement is told to the more distorted it becomes. This is because people
Const. amend. VI). In which hearsay is used in court as truthful testimony the accused is denied their right to meet their accuser which would be the individual who supposedly witnessed what the accused said not the individual who was told what the accused said to that individual. The Confrontation Clause of the 6th Amendment guarantees this right to the accused. The Confrontation Clause basis for excluding any post-suggestive statements is that because post-suggestion reports are indistinguishable from accurate reports, and subsequent questioning cannot distinguish the truth between the two, in which cross-examination is rendered ineffective by the use of suggestion (Rosenthal, 2002). Suggestive interviews can subsequently alter the perception of an individual and their recollection of the