What is "evidence"?

United States v. Aboumoussalem, 726 F.2d 906, pin? (2d Cir. 1984) (conviction for importing and distributing heroin hydrochloride and of conspiracy to distribute;defendant claimed in part that the district court improperly excluded as irrelevant evidence corroborating his...A scheme to dupe the accused into participating in criminal activity has been held to be relevant under the circumstances.

Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(6) ("A statement offered against a party that has engaged or acquiesced in wrongdoing that was intended to, and did, procure the unavailability of the declarant as a witness").A statement of an unavailable declarant is not barred by the hearsay rule if the opposing party deliberately acted to prevent the declarant from testifying.

Cf. Baker v. Barnhart, 457 F.3d 882, 891 (8th Cir. 2006) (holding, in employee's claim for income disability benefits, that the trial court erroneously took judicial notice of the Soderberg article because the court....If a treatise, periodical, or similar literature is shown to be reliable and authoritative on a topic, under some circumstances a statement in such literature about the topic falls within an exception to the prohibition against the admission of hearsay evidence.