Implied assertions in documents aren’t hearsay

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted July 27, 2020 11:27 AM

Encountering a hearsay problem that judges have struggled with since Wright v. Tatham, 112 Eng. Rep. 488 (1837), the Illinois Appellate Court — ruling on “a matter of first impression in Illinois” after prosecutors in a constructive possession case used correspondence from AT&T and American Family Insurance Co. addressed to the defendant, Christopher Neal, at 1344 E. Division St. in Decatur, Ill., to prove he lived at the residence where police found heroin — concluded that “implied assertions of fact contained within …

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