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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. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Demonstrative evidence is evidence used to help the fact-finder gain context for the facts of the case. ...
Real evidence is a type of physical evidence and consists of objects that were involved in a case or actually played a part in the incident or transaction in question. ...
Eyewitness identification evidence is the leading cause of wrongful conviction in the United States. ...
Genetic fingerprinting, DNA testing, DNA typing, and DNA profiling are techniques used to distinguish between individuals of the same species using only samples of their DNA. Its invention by Dr. Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester was announced in 1985. ...
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. ...
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. ...
Under common law, privilege is a term describing a number of rules excluding evidence that would be adverse to a fundamental principle or relationship if it were disclosed. ...
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, profession, publication or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of his or her 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. ...
For other uses, see Hearsay. ...
Hearsay is a legal term that describes a class of evidence generally disallowed by most courts in the United States. ...
A confession is where a suspect in a crime admits their guilt to the crime. ...
An excited utterance, in the law of evidence, is a statement made by a person in response to a shocking event. ...
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. ...
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. ...
Declarations against interest are an exception to the rule on hearsay in which a persons statement may be used, where generally the content of the statement is so predjudicial to the person making it (such as confessing to a crime or admitting liability for a tort) that they would...
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. ...
In the law of evidence, an implied assertion is a statement or conduct that infers some fact. ...
A contract is a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties that the law will enforce. ...
This article is about legal torts. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
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. ...
The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply. ...
Background
The party admission, in the law of evidence, is a type of statement that appears to be hearsay (an out of court statement) but is generally exempted (excluded) from the definition of hearsay. For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ...
The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ...
Hearsay is a legal term that describes a class of evidence generally disallowed by most courts in the United States. ...
Party Admissions in U.S. Law In the USA, 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. Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, such a statement is admissible to prove the truth of the statement itself, meaning that the statement itself is not considered hearsay at all. This is a category of exemptions to the inadmissibility of out-of-court statements. When the term "exemption" is used here, it does not mean that the statement is an "exception" to the hearsay rule. Rather, a party admission is classified as "nonhearsay" by the Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2). For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ...
The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ...
A declarant, generally speaking, is anyone who composes and signs a statement or declaration alleging that the information he has given therein is true. ...
A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law. ...
Civil action redirects here. ...
The Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) are the rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in the United States federal court system. ...
The statement is admissible even if the declarant had no basis for knowing the truth of the statement. For example, if an employee rushes to tell the director of a trucking company that one of his trucks has been in an accident, and the director says, "oh, we're behaving so negligently, lately," that statement will be admissible - even though the manager had no reason to know that this particular accident was the result of negligence.
The exemption permits one party to offer the out-of-court statement of any opponent party. It may not be used by a party to offer that party's own out of court statement. However, under the common law doctrine of completeness, a party may possibly be able to admit some statements of their own, if a party admission exemption allows the opponent to admit part of a statement, and the first party wishes to admit the rest of that statement.
The rationale for the rule The rationale for a party admission exception to hearsay exclusion can be mostly easily understood by reference to the rationale for the hearsay rule itself. Affadavit evidence consisting of out-of-court statements, is not subject to cross-examination. Affidavit evidence is thought to detract from the truth-finding mission of a trial. The accuracy or credibility of affidavits lack the transparency that cross-examination exacts. However, party admissions are subject to cross-examination, explanation, or denial. Therefore, instead of detracting from the truth-finding mission, they advance it. In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by ones opponent. ...
Distinction between "party admissions" and "statements against interest" There is frequent confusion about whether a "party admission" has to be a statement that is against the interests of its maker. The word "admission" connotes that the statement must be harmful. However, the party admission exemption does not in any way require that the admission be a representation against the party's interest - a "statement against interest."
"Statements against interest" made by other witnesses are sometimes admissible over the hearsay exception, but that is covered by a different exception. See Fed. R. Evid. 804. The differences are:
1) It is party neutral (the hearsay exemption is party-specific).
2) The declarant must be unavailable.
3) The statement must be against the penal interest (under federal rules of evidence) or the fiscal or social interest (under the rules of states not following the federal rules).
4) The "statement against interest has a rationale that is different from the party admission rule. The courts that created that exception assumed it unlikely that a person would make a statement against his own interest untruthfully. The party admission, as shown above, has nothing to do with this.
Extensions of the Rule The reach of Rule 801(d)(2) extends beyond simple statements of a party's own making, which is exempted under 801(d)(2)(A). It also applies to statements made by others, if the party manifests belief and approval. FRE(801(d)(2)(B). Further, it applies to vicarious admissions - those made by a declarant authorized by the party to make the statement, or by a servant or agent, if it concerns a matter within the scope of the servant. FRE 801(d)(2)(C) and (D). Finally, it allows admission of any statement made by a co-conspirator in furtherance of the conspirator, provided there is independent evidence of the conspiracy's existence. FRE 801(d)(2)(E).
With regard to adoptive admissions, even a party's silence can be a basis for admitting evidence under this exception. In some jurisdictions, the court is required to let the jury consider whether the silence was an adoptive admission. See U.S. v. Sears, 663 F. 2d 896 (9th Cir. 1981)
The rule creates an issue in criminal prosecutions of multiple defendants. The use of a party admission of one defendant is not generally allowed to be considered against the second, unless they are co-conspirators.
The Differing role of the Party Admission in Federal and State Law The Party Admission rule is nearly universal in the U.S. Many states follow the Federal Rules of Evidence, but some do not. Those states do not draw a distinction between "exemptions" and "exceptions." However, the party admission is still admissible under all of the same circumstances as in rule 801(d). See e.g. Cal. Evidence Code s. 1220 et seq. |
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