Dying declaration
Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, a dying declaration is defined as a statement made by a declarant, who is now unavailable, who made the statement under a belief of certain or impending death, and the statement concerns the causes or circumstances of impending death. A dying declaration is admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule in any criminal homicide case or a civil case.
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
A statement by someone who believes he or she is about to die, relating to the cause or circumstances of that condition. A dying declaration is an exception to the hearsay rule under the Federal Rules of Evidence. In a trial for murder, for example, a witness may be allowed to testify that the victim said, "Frank shot me" while bleeding to death in the street.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:15 pm
