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The rule excluding hearsay arises from a concern regarding the statement's reliability. Courts have four principal concerns with the reliability of witness statements: the witness may be lying (sincerity risk), the witness may have misunderstood the situation (narration risk), the witness's memory may be wrong (memory risk), and the witness's perception was inaccurate (perception risk). [8]
According to the Court in Roberts, if a witness is unavailable, that witness's testimony can be admitted through a third person if it bears "adequate indicia of reliability." This was true if a statement fell within a "firmly rooted hearsay exception" or had "particularized guarantees of trustworthiness."
"Hearsay is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted." [1] Per Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(a), a statement made by a defendant is admissible as evidence only if it is inculpatory; exculpatory statements made to an investigator are hearsay and therefore may not be admitted as ...
In 1997, the Law Commission argued that the primary use of it was to allow evidence from unavailable witnesses (including those who were deceased or in fear of testifying)—their proposal for a hearsay exception for this specific reason became section 116 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Given the existence of this, "it is difficult to see ...
"Statements against interest" made by other witnesses are sometimes admissible over the hearsay exception, but that is covered by a different exception. [3] The "statements against interest" rule is different because: It is party neutral (the hearsay exemption is party-specific). The declarant must be unavailable.
Rule 803. Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay–Regardless of Whether the Declarant is Available as a Witness; Rule 804. Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay–when the Declarant is Unavailable as a Witness; Rule 805. Hearsay Within Hearsay; Rule 806. Attacking and Supporting the Declarant's Credibility; Rule 807. Residual Exceptions
A witness's testimony may be read in court if the witness is unavailable to attend. [19] To be admissible, the evidence must be otherwise admissible, and the maker of the statement identified to the court's satisfaction. Additionally, the absent person making the original statement must fall within one of following categories: [19] Dead
Giles v. California, 554 U.S. 353 (2008), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that for testimonial statements to be admissible under the forfeiture exception to hearsay, the defendant must have intended to make the witness unavailable for trial.