Murdock and his wife were in a plane crash. The first
responder saw that the wife was dead, and heard Murdock say, "I'm
alive." Soon after Murdock died.
For inheritance purposes, it was important who died first.
The Trial Judge excluded the evidence about Murdock's
statement as hearsay.
The Appellate Court overruled.
Basically, the veracity of Murdock's statement was not at
issue. But the simple fact that he made it proved that was indeed alive.
If Murdock had said, "my enemy tampered with my
airplane," that would not be admissible as proof of the enemy's
guilt because it was hearsay.
