Miles Guo Court Documents · Doc 368

摘要

Defense Letter · Government Hearsay Objections During Cross-Examination

This three-page filing, dated May 29, 2024 from Sidhardha Kamaraju of Pryor Cashman LLP, addresses what the defense characterizes as the government's persistent hearsay objections during defense counsel's cross-examination of witnesses at trial in United States v. Guo, 1:23-cr-00118-1 (AT).

Defense's Characterization

The defense reports that the government's repeated position at sidebar has been:

• Whenever a witness is asked to recount a statement made by Mr. Guo, that testimony should be barred as hearsay (citing transcript Tr. 334:21-24);
• The only way such evidence should come in is through Mr. Guo's own testimony.

The defense argues this position misstates the law.

Defense's Legal Argument

The defense argues that Mr. Guo's out-of-court statements are admissible against him by the government under FRE 801(d)(2)(A) — but that the same statements may also be elicited by the defense from witnesses on cross-examination where:

• The defense is not offering them for their truth but for other purposes (effect on listener, etc.);
• The statements are admissible under non-hearsay exceptions;
• The questions concern the witness's own perceptions and observations of what Mr. Guo said in context.