Evidence
Part of the common law series
Types of evidence
Testimony · Documentary evidence
Physical evidence · Digital evidence
Exculpatory evidence · Scientific evidence
Demonstrative evidence
Relevance
Burden of proof
Laying a foundation
Subsequent remedial measure
Character evidence · Habit evidence
Similar fact evidence
Authentication
Chain of custody
Judicial notice · Best evidence rule
Self-authenticating document
Ancient document
Witnesses
Competence · Privilege
Direct examination · Cross-examination
Impeachment · Recorded recollection
Expert witness · Dead man statute
Hearsay (and its exceptions)
Excited utterance · Dying declaration
Party admission · Ancient document
Declaration against interest
Present sense impression · Res gestae
Learned treatise
Other areas of the common law
Contract law · Tort law · Property law
Wills and Trusts · Criminal law

In the law of evidence, a dying declaration is testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay but may nonetheless be admitted as evidence in certain kinds of cases because it constituted the last words of a dying person. Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ... Documentary evidence is any evidence introduced at a trial in the form of documents. ... Physical evidence is any evidence introduced in a trial in the form of a physical object, intended to prove a fact in issue based on its demonstrable physical characteristics. ... Digital evidence or electronic evidence is any probative information stored or transmitted in digital form that a party to a court case may use at trial. ... Exculpatory evidence is the evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial, which clears or tends to clear the defendant of guilt. ... The scientific method or process is fundamental to the scientific investigation and acquisition of new knowledge based upon physical evidence. ... Demonstrative evidence is evidence used to help the fact-finder gain context for the facts of the case. ... Relevance, in the common law of evidence, is the tendency of a given item of evidence to prove or disprove one of the legal elements of the case, or to have probative value to make one of the elements of the case likelier or not. ... In the common law, burden of proof is the obligation to prove allegations which are presented in a legal action. ... In law, to lay a foundation means to provide sufficient evidence of the authenticity and relevance for the admission of the testimony of a witness, documentary evidence, or other piece of evidence. ... A subsequent remedial measure is a term used in the law of evidence (law) in the United States to describe an improvement or repair made to a structure following an injury caused by the condition of that structure. ... Character evidence is a term used in the law of evidence in the United States to describe any testimony or document submitted for the purpose of proving that a person acted in a particular way on a particular occasion based on the character or disposition of that person. ... Habit evidence is a term used in the law of evidence in the United States to describe any evidence submitted for the purpose of proving that a person acted in a particular way on a particular occasion based on that persons tendancy to reflexively respond to a particular situation... In the law of evidence, similar fact evidence (or the similar fact principle) establishes the conditions under which factual evidence of past misconduct of accused can be admitted at trial for the purpose of infering that the accused committed the misconduct at issue. ... Authentication, in the law of evidence, is the process by which documentary evidence and other physical evidence is proven to be genuine, and not a forgery. ... The chain of custody is a concept in jurisprudence which applies to the handling of evidence and its integrity. ... Judicial Notice is a rule of evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if the truth of that fact is so notorious or well known that it is cannot be refuted. ... The best evidence rule is a rule of evidence in the United States that requires that when writings are introduced as evidence in a trial, the original writing must be produced unless the party can account satisfactorily for its absence. ... A self authenticating document, under the law of evidence in the United States is any document that can be admitted into evidence at a trial without any proof being submitted to support the claim that the document is what it appears to be. ... An ancient document, in the law of evidence, refers to both a means of authentication for a piece of documentary evidence, and an exception to the hearsay rule. ... This article is about witnesses in law courts. ... In law, competence is conerns the mental capacity of a individual to participate in legal proceedings. ... A privilege—etymologically private law or law relating to a specific individual—is an honour, or permissive activity granted by another person or a government. ... Direct examination (also called examination in chief) is the questioning of a witness by the party who called him or her, in a trial in a court of law. ... In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by ones opponent. ... Witness impeachment, in the law of evidence, is the process of calling into question the credibility of an individual who is testifying in a trial. ... A recorded recollection, in the law of evidence, is a an exception to the hearsay rule which allows a witness to testify to the accuracy of a recording or documentation of their own out-of-court statement based on their recollection of the circumstances under which the statement was recorded... An expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of education, or profession, or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of his subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon his opinion. ... A dead man statute is a statute designed to prevent perjury in a civil case by prohibiting a witness who is an interested party from testifying about communications or transactions with a decedent, unless there is a waiver. ... Hearsay in its most general and oldest meaning is a term used in the law of evidence to describe an out of court statement offered to establish the facts asserted in that statement. ... An excited utterance, in the law of evidence, is a statement made by a person in response to a shocking event. ... A party admission, in the law of evidence, is any statement made by a declarant who is a party to a lawsuit, which is offered as evidence against that party. ... An ancient document, in the law of evidence, refers to both a means of authentication for a piece of documentary evidence, and an exception to the hearsay rule. ... Hearsay in its most general and oldest meaning is a term used in the law of evidence to describe an out of court statement offered to establish the facts asserted in that statement. ... A present sense impression, in the law of evidence, is a statement made by a person that conveys their sense of the state of certain things at the time the statement was made. ... This article is for the legal term Res Gestae. For the article on the record of the accomplishments of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, see the article for Res Gestae Divi Augusti. ... A learned treatise, in the law of evidence, is a text that is sufficiently authoritiative in its field to be admissible as evidence in a court in support of the contentions made therein. ... A contract is a promise or an agreement that is enforced or recognized by the law. ... In the common law, a tort is a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract, for which the law provides a remedy. ... Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions) and in personal property, within the common law legal system. ... In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ... The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of law which governs the management of personal affairs and the disposition of property of an individual in anticipation and the event of such persons incapacity or death, also known as the law of successions in civil law. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of common law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ... In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ... Hearsay in its most general and oldest meaning is a term used in the law of evidence to describe an out of court statement offered to establish the facts asserted in that statement. ...

In the United States

Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, a dying declaration is admissible if: The Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) are the rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in the United States federal court system. ...

1. it constituted the last words of a person who was dying, and
2. that person was aware that he or she was dying, and
3. that person made a statement, based on their actual knowledge, that relates in some way to the cause or circumstances of his or her death.

For example, suppose Rachel stabs John and then runs away, and a police officer happens upon John as he lies in the gutter, bleeding to death. If John manages to sputter out with his last words, "I'm dying - Rachel stabbed me" (or even just "Rachel did it"), the officer can testify to that in court. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The declarant does not actually have to die for the statement to be admissible, but they need to have had a genuine belief that they were going to die, and they must be unavailable to testify in court. In the above scenario, if John were to recover instead of dying, and were able to testify in court, the officer would no longer be able to testify to the statement. It would then constitute hearsay, and not fall into the exception. Furthermore, the statement must relate to the circumstances or the cause of the declarant's own death. If John's last words are "Rachel killed Mary", that statement will not fall within the exception, and will be inadmissible (unless Rachel killed John and Mary in the same act).

Furthermore, as with all testimony, the dying declaration will be inadmissible unless it is based on the declarant's actual knowledge. Suppose, for example, John bought a cup of coffee at the airport, and was stricken with food poisoning. If his dying last words were that "the people who sold them the coffee mix must have used a defective packing machine", that statement would be inadmissible despite the hearsay exception because John had no way of knowing anything about the conditions in which the coffee was packed.

In U.S. federal courts, the dying declaration exception is limited to civil cases and homicide prosecutions. It cannot be used in any other kind of criminal proceeding. Although many U.S. States copy the Federal Rules of Evidence in their statutes, some permit the admission of dying declarations in all cases. The United States federal courts are the system of courts organized under the Constitution and laws of the federal government of the United States. ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... wikipedia sucks Etymology: Latin homicidium, from homo- human being + caedere- to cut, kill Homicide is the killing of another human being by one or more persons. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ... A state of the United States (a U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ...

In India

Reproduced with the author's [1] ---moksha---permission.

A dying declaration is a statement, verbal or written, made by a person since deceased, relating to the cause of his or her death or any of the transaction resulting in death. S.32 (1)* Of the Indian Evidence Act (A subset of the British Act) describes statements made by persons who cannot be called as witnesses to prove the same. Broadly conceived, linguistics is the study of human language, and a linguist is someone who engages in this study. ... Writing is the process of inscribing characters on a medium, with the intention of forming words and other larger language constructs. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed by the British parliament in 1872, contains a set of rules and allied issues governing admissibility of any evidence in the Indian courts of law. ...

The reason this kind of evidence has been admitted as put by Lord Baron Eyre is that “ they are declarations made in extremity, when the party is at the point of death, and when every [hope] of the world is gone, when every motive to falsehood is silenced, and the mind is induced by the most powerful considerations to speak the truth. A situation so solemn and so awful is considered by the law as creating an obligation equal to that which is imposed by a positive oath in the court of justice.” ** Motive is a term that turns up in many different forms in the popular psychology of literature, cinema, business and as term of art in law. ... La Vérité by the French painter Jules Joseph Lefebvre Common dictionary definitions of truth mention some form of accord with fact or reality. ... Lady Justice - allegory of Justice as woman with sword and with book - statue at court building. ...

References

* S.32 Cases in which statement of relevant fact by person who is dead or cannot be found, etc. is relevant—statements, written or verbal of relevant facts made by a person who is dead, or who cannot be found, or who has become incapable of giving evidence or whose attendance cannot be procured without an amount of delay or expense which, under the circumstances of the case appears to the Court unreasonable, are themselves relevant facts in the following cases:-- This page deals with the cessation of life. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ... A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ...

(1) When it relates to cause of Death—When the statement is made by a person as to the cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction, which resulted in his death, in cases in which the cause of that persons death comes into the question. Such statements are relevant whether the person who made them was or not, at the time when they were made, under expectation of death and whatever may be the nature of the proceeding in which the cause of his death comes into the question.

** R v. Woodstock, (1789) 1 Leach. 504 (Eyre, C.B.) Woodstock may refer to: Woodstock Music and Art Festival, a 1969 U.S. rock festival which inspired a 1970 Warner Bros. ...

DYING DECLARATION MADE IN A STATE OF SHOCK In medicine, shock (hypoperfusion) is a life-threatening medical emergency characterized by inability of the circulatory system to supply enough oxygen to meet tissue requirements. ...

shock n.(i)

1. A violent collision or [impact]; heavy blow.

2. Pathology: A generally temporary state of massive physiological reaction to bodily trauma, usually characterized by marked loss of blood pressure and the depression of vital processes. Pathology (from Greek pathos, feeling, pain, suffering; and logos, study of; see also -ology) is the study of the processes underlying disease and other forms of illness, harmful abnormality, or dysfunction. ... Physiology (in Greek physis = nature and logos = word) is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. ... Trauma can represent: Physical trauma, an often serious and body-altering physical injury, such as the removal of a limb. ... Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the blood on the walls of the blood vessels. ... For the Jain teacher Mahāvīras philosophy, see vitalism (philosophy). ...

As Modi’s medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology(ii) describes “Shock” as a result of considerable loss of blood or obstruction to respiration or circulation, lack of oxygen develops, which also causes endothelial damage and increased capillary permeability resulting in changes in fluid balance. Shock usually appears immediately after receiving the injuries, but it may supervene after some time, if the individual at the time of receiving injuries was in a state of great excitement and [mental] preoccupation. Shock may be produced from exhaustion resulting from several injuries combined though each one of them separately may be very slight. Jurisprudence is essentially the theory and philosophy of law. ... Toxicology (from the Greek words toxicon and logos) is the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms. ... In medicine, shock (hypoperfusion) is a life-threatening medical emergency characterized by inability of the circulatory system to supply enough oxygen to meet tissue requirements. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... It has been suggested that Gas exchange be merged into this article or section. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... The endothelium is the layer of thin, flat cells that lines the interior surface of blood vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall. ... Fatale is also the title of a comic book published in the mid-1990s by Broadway Comics. ... Capillaries are the smallest of a bodys blood vessels, measuring 5-10 μm. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In medicine, shock (hypoperfusion) is a life-threatening medical emergency characterized by inability of the circulatory system to supply enough oxygen to meet tissue requirements. ... In medicine, shock (hypoperfusion) is a life-threatening medical emergency characterized by inability of the circulatory system to supply enough oxygen to meet tissue requirements. ...

After receiving mortal injuries involving a vital organ, a very guarded reply is required to be given by a medical witness to state whether a person is capable of speaking, walking or performing any other volitional act which would involve a bodily or mental power for some time after receiving the fatal injury. Injuries cause variable reactions in individuals, also some cases have been recorded where some acts requiring some exertion have been recorded, where the victims have survived some hours after receiving some grave injuries, which ordinarily would be rapidly fatal. In biology, an organ (Latin: organum, instrument, tool) is a group of tissues, which perform a specific function or group of functions. ... Speech: (n. ... Woman walking downstairs Walk redirects here. ... Grave has multiple meanings: A grave (IPA: ) is a place for the dead, see tomb, burial, grave (burial) A grave accent (IPA: ) is a type of diacritical mark (as in French crème de la crème). ...

In the case of K.E v. Kalla Khan(iii) , a male was stabbed in the stomach with a knife and was able to walk two furlongs (402 m) to a police station to make a police report and he was also able to make a dying declaration in a complete mental state before dying. The shield and spear of the Roman God Mars are often used to represent the male sex In heterogamous species, male is the sex of an organism, or of a part of an organism, which typically produces smaller, mobile gametes (spermatozoa) that are able to fertilise female gametes (ova). ... A stabbing or stab is the penetration of the human body by a sharp or pointed object at close range. ... Traditional Finnish puukko knife A knife is a sharp-edged hand tool used for cutting. ... MENTAL STATE Listening to music by the North Carolina band Something For You can send a person or, in some extreme cases, another animal posessing ears into a strange mental state in which a pleasurable sense is sent to the ears. ... This page deals with the cessation of life. ...

The statement made by the deceased must be straightforward, rational, consistent and absolutely coherent and it should also have a ring of truth to it. A dying declaration is admissible if it is made in full possession of senses. If the certificate given by the doctor mentions that the patient became semi-conscious, this however is not a conclusive proof that the deceased became confused or there was any wandering or want of clearness in the mind. Wounds may cause depressions of the vital functions as a result of shock due to trauma with visible injury. Primary or neurogenic shock may cause short of breath and solar plexus (reaction caused by a blow on the pit of the stomach), which in turn may lead to a semi conscious stage, which is an indication of weakness and not mental impairment.(iv) This page deals with the cessation of life. ... Senses are the physiological methods of perception. ... A wound is a physical trauma where the skin is torn, cut or punctured. ... In medicine, shock (hypoperfusion) is a life-threatening medical emergency characterized by inability of the circulatory system to supply enough oxygen to meet tissue requirements. ... Trauma can represent: Physical trauma, an often serious and body-altering physical injury, such as the removal of a limb. ... Injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical. ... Neurogenic shock is shock caused by hiv aids the sudden loss of the sympathetic nervous system signals to the smooth muscle in vessel walls. ... The solar plexus, also known as the celiac plexus, plexus cœliacus or plexus solaris, is an autonomous cluster of nerve cells (see Plexus) in the human body behind the stomach and below the diaphragm near the celiac artery in the abdominal cavity. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

More so if the certificate given by the doctor mentions that the patient became semi-unconscious towards the end of the [dying declaration] that clearly shows that the deceased was fully conscious when he started making the dying declaration before the doctor.

References

(i) The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language - New College Edition

(ii) N.J.Modi, Modi’s textbook of Medical Jurisprdence and Toxicology, 244, (M.Tripathi (P) Ltd., Mumbai, 1977)

(iii) (All.), High Court Criminal Appeal No. 757 of 1923

(iv) Refer to note (ii) on p.245