LAW 682 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Declarant, Witness Tampering, Confrontation Clause
Document Summary
Hearsay exceptions: statements against penal interest, forfeiture by wrongdoing. Only admit portion of declarant"s statement that was against declarant"s interest; statements blaming others or that are neutral are inadmissible. Even if declarant doesn"t know about statute of limitations-doesn"t affect trustworthiness. Who you make statement of interest to-affects trustworthiness (e. g. police vs. friend) Result element-defendant"s wrongdoing caused the declarant to be unavailable. Culpable mental state-wrongdoing was intended to make the declarant unavailable. If defendant tries to make witness unavailable at any proceeding, witness"s statement carries over to other proceedings. Witness tampering is a crime-wrongdoing requirement-applied the same across jurisdictions. Doesn"t need to be criminal (e. g. threat or bribe) to be wrongful- Includes telling someone to testify falsely, unlawfully withhold testimony, not attend proceeding, evade subpoena or summons. 801(d)(2)-opposing party statements (2) an opposing party"s statement. Creates exception to opinion testimony rule (can give opinion even if not expert)/personal knowledge requirement. Estoppel-declarant can take stand and testify to content of statement.
