Rule 801(d)(1): The Admissibility of Prior Consistent Statements

At common law, both prior inconsistent statements offered for impeachment and prior consistent statements offered for rehabilitation were considered hearsay and were admissible only as evidence of credibility. The law changed with the adoption of the Federal Rules of Evidence in 1975. Rule 801(d)(1) defined certain categories of out-of-court statements as nonhearsay, meaning that they are admissible as evidence of the truth of their contents.