Admission against interest
Definition
An out-of-court statement by a party that, when uttered, is against the party's pecuniary, proprietary, or penal interest and that is admissible under both an exclusion (admission by a party-opponent) and an exception (statement against interest) to the rule against hearsay. Such a statement is admissible even if the declarant is available, because an admission by a party-opponent is non-hearsay and, thus, does not require unavailability.
Illustrative caselaw
See, e.g. On Lee v. U.S., 343 U.S. 747 (1952).
See also
- Admission
- Admission of guilt
- Admit
- Declaration against interest
- Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 801(d)(2) and 804(b)(3)
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
An admission against interest is an exception to the hearsay rule which allows someone to testify to a statement by another person that reveals something incriminating, embarassing, or otherwise damaging to the maker of the statement.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:10 pm
