Is evidence of a statement made to a witness by a person who is not himself called as a witness admissible?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from R. v. Delellis, 2019 BCCA 335 (CanLII):
In Subramaniam v. Public Prosecutor, [1956] 1 W.L.R. 965 (P.C.) at 970, it was explained that: Evidence of a statement made to a witness by a person who is not himself called as a witness may or may not be hearsay. It is hearsay and inadmissible when the object of the evidence is to establish the truth of what is contained in the statement. It is not hearsay and is admissible when it is proposed to establish by the evidence, not the truth of the statement, but the fact that it was made. The fact that the statement was made, quite apart from its truth, is frequently relevant in considering the mental state and conduct thereafter of the witness or of some other person in whose presence the statement was made. [Cited with approval in Smith at para. 20. Emphasis added.]
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