A statement is hearsay if and only if (a) it is made other than at the trial at which it is offered and (b)(1) it is offered (by a party) to show (2) the truth of the matter asserted (by the declarant).

 

I.e., a statement is hearsay iff ("if and only if"):

"S" signifies "statement"

"OCS" signifies an "out-of-court statement," or a statement made at a time and occasion other than the trial at which it is offered

"PURPOSE" signifies the purpose for which the offeror is offering the statement

"T" & "MA" signify respectively "truth" and "matter asserted"

•"MA" -- or the "matter asserted" -- refers to the matter (if any) that the DECLARANT intended to assert.

•The declarant is the person who made the out-of-court statement that is now being offered in evidence.

 

•"PURPOSE" refers to the intentions or purposes of a PARTY in the lawsuit, the party offering the statement.

 

To make a statement hearsay a party must want to use the statement to prove that the matter asserted in the statement is true. If a party offers a statement to show something else -- anything else --, the statement is not hearsay.

E.g.: Albert Accused, a defendant in a murder case, offers to show that Valiant Victim, the alleged victim of the murder, made the statement, "Albert Accused, you are a devil." The statement is not hearsay. Valiant Victim is the declarant. He asserts that Albert Accused is the a devil. Hence, the "matter asserted" is that Albert is a devil. This is not what Albert wants to show with the statement; he does not want to show that the matter asserted by the declarant Valiant is true. Hence, Albert is not offering the statement to show the truth of the matter asserted. (Albert wants to show that he had reason to fear an attack by Victim or that Victim hated Albert and therefore later attacked Albert.)