Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter stated. On charges of stealing, the State offered rental records to show how property manager stole money, so the records were not hearsay. And, even if they were, the State provided the foundation for admissibility of business records as required by statute: the sponsoring witness was familiar with the records, and records bore indicia of reliability as described by statute. Statutes provide that property manager’s course of conduct, stealing rents, constituted a single act so no plain error occurred when instructions did not treat the case as a multiple acts case.
State of Missouri vs. Candy M. Phillips
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District – WD83458
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