Midterm Flashcards
(3 cards)
Why are there so many hearsay exceptions?
The reason there are so many hearsay exceptions is to protect statements that have reliability in them. Certain statements (that would be hearsay) have an indicia of reliability which makes them useful for statements in court.
Foundation for 804 elements.
First, you must lay the foundation that the declarant is unavailable for some reason either because he is dead, refuse to testify subpoena, severe memory loss, does not attend even though lawyer made reasonable efforts to make declarant come to court, or privilege that the court acknowledges.
For the dying declarant exception, if a person has laid the foundation that he has belief of imminent death, this would qualify as a hearsay exception.
For former testimony, if a person has laid the foundation that the out-of-court statement was former testimony given at a trial or deposition occurred, this would qualify as a hearsay exception.
For a statement against interest, if a person has laid the foundation of showing a statement made, that a reasonable person would have made only if they believed it to be true, shown to being so contrary to their proprietary interest or expose the declarant to liability, then this would also qualify as a hearsay exception.
803 hearsay exceptions:
1) Present sense impression - statement describing or explaining an event or condition made while or immediately after the declarant perceived it
2) Excited Utterance - A statement related to a startling event or condition, made while declarant was under stress of excitement it caused
3) Then-Existing Mental, Emotional, or Physical Condition - Something that they feel internally
4) Medical Treatment - Statement made for medical diagnosis
5) Recorded Recollection - Foundation requires that something the witness had clear in their mind when it was recorded, but does not recall it now
6) Business Records - Foundation is laid by calling witness who would lay the foundation for the documents by saying they are reliable business records
7) Public Records - Foundation must be laid that statement is of the public office’s activities or that it was observed under a legally duty to report
