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
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

An excited utterance, in the law of evidence, is a statement made by a person in response to a shocking event. An example would be of a person saying, "Look out! We're going to crash!" Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, such a statement is admissible to prove the truth of the statement itself (e.g., in the case of the above quotation, to prove that the vehicle the declarant was riding in was, in fact, about to crash). This is an exception to the prohibition on hearsay. Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (eg. ... 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... 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. ... A dying declaration is a term used in the law of evidence to signify that testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay may nonetheless be admitted as evidence in certain kinds of cases because it constituted the last words of a dying person. ... 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 recognised 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. ... Law (from the late Old English lagu of probable North Germanic origin) in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (eg. ... The Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) are the rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in the United States federal court system. ... A declarant, generally speaking, is anyone who composes and signs a statement or declaration alleging that the information he has given therein is true. ... 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. ...

The basis for this exception is the belief that statements made in such a state of excitement are unlikely to be premeditated falsehoods. An excited utterance does not have to be made at the same time of the startling event, but it must be made while the declarant is in the state of surprise or shock resulting from the incident to which the statement relates. The declarant's reflective powers must be stilled, meaning that, while making the statement, the declarant would not yet have had a chance to reflect upon the startling event, fabricate a purposefully false statement, and then say it. Therefore the statement is accepted as trustworthy. This is a simplified explanation of why an excited utterance is deemed trustworthy to a trier of fact. If it is deemed that the declarant has had time to reflect on the situation by the time they made the statement, it is not an excited utterance. Note that it is possible for days to have passed before the declarant fully reflects on the event, and "unstills" their reflective powers.

A statement made minutes, hours or even days after the startling event can be excited utterances, so long as the declarant is still under the stress of the startling event. However, the more time that elapses between a startling event and the declarant's statement, the more the statements will be looked upon with disfavor. The time duration between the startling event and the statement is an issue of weight given by the trier of fact, and not an issue of admissability of the testimony in trial. For example, if the declarant made a statement six days after a car-crash, but, due to the extent of his injuries and the loss of a family member, it is deemed by the court that he had not yet had a chance to reflect upon the crash, the statement would be given signifigantly less weight than if the statement had been made one hour after the crash. In addition, for obvious reasons, the credibility of the witness, and any reasons he may have to lie on the stand regarding the specific testimony would play additional roles in the jury's determination of a statement's proper weight.