![]() ![]() ![]() A teacher, for example, may confide to a friend that she suspects one of her students is the victim of abuse, but she does not want to report it to the authorities because she fears she may be wrong. It is not uncommon for people to make statements against their interests in private settings. Of course, the witness offering the hearsay testimony may not be telling the truth, but that goes to credibility, not admissibility. The theory governing this exception is that a person would not fabricate a statement divergent from his or her own best interest. Formal admissions are admissible as part of the public record. The confession doesn't need formal admission, such as a statement given to the police. Statements against interest, sometimes called admissions or confessions, are statements or actions that in some way adversely affect the divulging party. ![]() In order to be a true impulsive utterance, the statement has to have been made in conjunction with some event that would be so overwhelming as to discount the possibility of fabrication. It is not enough that a person may have been angry or upset-that is, excited-when he or she made the statement. Most applicable in criminal cases, the rationale behind this exception is that during or immediately following a criminal act, a person is not likely to have the presence of mind to lie or give false statements. Exception: Excited utteranceĪn "excited utterance" is when someone makes a statement during the heat of the moment, possibly providing an unguarded, true piece of information. Below, you can find legal yet easy-to-understand explanations of some commonly known-and misunderstood-exceptions to the hearsay rule. Exceptions to the hearsay ruleĪs with any rule, there are exceptions, and the hearsay rule has plenty of them. As such, hearsay evidence is inadmissible. When the person being quoted is not present, establishing credibility becomes impossible, as does cross-examination. Broadly defined, "hearsay" is testimony or documents quoting people who are not present in court. ![]()
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