Declaration Against Interest - Law Dictionary Search Results
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declaration
declaration 1 : the act of declaring [ of dividends] [ of war] 2 a : the first pleading in a common-law action compare complaint, indictment b : a statement usually not under oath made by a party to a legal transaction [the attorney must later sign an affidavit or stating that he has informed the debtor "J. H. Williamson"] c : a statement not under oath being offered as evidence declaration against interest : a statement made by someone unavailable as a witness that is against that person's own interests (as pecuniary or property interests) or may subject that person to liability compare admission, confession, self-incrimination NOTE: A declaration against interest is an exception to the hearsay rule. A statement that is offered to clear the accused is not admissible without corroborating circumstances under the Federal Rules of Evidence. dy·ing declaration : a statement that is made by a person who firmly believes that he or she is about to die and has no hope of recove...
Hearsay evidence
Hearsay evidence. It is a general principle in the law of evidence that if any fact is to be proved against anyone, it ought to be proved in his presence by the testimony of a witness sworn to speak the truth; and the reason of the rule is, that the person who is to be affected by the evidence ought to have an opportunity of interrogating the witness as to his means of knowledge, and concerning all the particulars of his statement. Hearsay evidence (whether spoken or written) of a fact, therefore, is not admissible. And this rule is extended to affidavits, which, except on interlocutory motions, when statements as to belief with the grounds thereof are admissible, must be confined to facts which the deponent can prove of his own knowledge [(English) R.S.C. 1883, Ord. XXXVIII.,r. 3].Among the exceptions to the general rule as to the inadmissibility of hearsay evidence are the follow-ing: (1) dying declarations; (2) hearsay in questions of pedigree; (3) hearsay on questions of public rig...
admission
admission 1 : the act or process of admitting [ into evidence] 2 a : a party's acknowledgment that a fact or statement is true NOTE: In civil cases admissions are often agreed to and offered in writing to the court before trial as a method of reducing the number of issues to be proven at trial. b : a party's prior out-of-court statement or action that is inconsistent with his or her position at trial and that tends to establish guilt compare confession declaration against interest at declaration NOTE: Under the Federal Rules of Evidence an admission is not hearsay. Silence can sometimes be construed as an admission where a person would reasonably be expected to speak up. ...
confession
confession 1 : an act of confessing 2 : an acknowledgment of a fact or allegation as true or proven ;esp : a written or oral statement by an accused party acknowledging the party's guilt (as by admitting commission of a crime) compare admission declaration against interest at declaration, self-incrimination NOTE: Courts differ on how a confession establishes the accused's guilt; for example, in some jurisdictions the confession has to establish all the necessary elements of the crime. In order to be admissible as evidence, a confession must be voluntary. A guilty plea is considered a judicial confession. ...
Declaration of deceased person
Declaration of deceased person. These declarations are frequently admissible as evidence, e.g., (1) if made in the ordinary discharge of business or duty; (2) if made against interest; (3) on questions of pedigree, if made before the commencement of litigation; (4) if accompanying an act the proof of which is relevant. See DEATHBED DECLARA-TIONS....
Res inter alios acta alteri nocere non debet
Res inter alios acta alteri nocere non debet (a trans-action between strangers ought not to injure another party), e.g., the sworn evidence of a witness in one cause cannot be made available in another cause between other parties. consult Best on Evidence, bk. 3, pt. 2, ch. 5, where it is pointed out that the maxim, in many varying forms, was well known both in the Civil and Canon Law; and see also Broom's Legal Maxims, citing the Duchess of Kingston's case, (1771) 20 How St Tr 335; 2 Sm LC, and other cases in illustration of the rule, and Higham v. Ridgway, (1808) 10 East, 109; 2 Sm LC, and other cases in which entries of a deceased stranger declarant against his interest, or in the course of his business, have been held admissible, in illustration of the exceptions....
Deathbed or Dying Declarations
Deathbed or Dying Declarations are constantly admitted in evidence. The principle of this exception to the general rule is founded partly on the awful situation of the dying person, which is considered to be as powerful over his conscience as the obligation of an oath, and partly on a supposed absence of interest in a person on the verge of the next world, which dispenses with the necessity of cross-examination. But before such declarations can be admitted in evidence against a prisoner, it must be satisfactorily proved that the deceased, at the time of making them, was conscious of his danger, and had given up all hope or recovery [R. v. Perry, (1909) 2 KB 697], and this may be collected from the nature and circumstances of the case, although the declarant did not express such an apprehension. It is not essential that the party should apprehend immediate dissolution; it is sufficient if he apprehend it to be impending. See Taylor on Evid., 12th Edn., ss. 714 et seq. The (English) Crim...
testimony
testimony pl: -nies [Latin testimonium, from testis witness] : evidence furnished by a witness under oath or affirmation and either orally or in an affidavit or deposition former testimony : testimony that a witness gives at a different proceeding (as another hearing or a deposition) NOTE: Under Federal Rule of Evidence 804, former testimony is admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule when the declarant is unavailable and if a predecessor in interest in a civil proceeding or the party against whom the testimony is offered had an opportunity and similar motive to develop the testimony. negative testimony : testimony concerning what did not happen ;esp : testimony concerning what one did not perceive [negative testimony that the witness did not hear a train whistle] NOTE: Negative testimony is sometimes accorded the same weight as positive testimony when the witness was in a position to perceive something and was eagerly attentive. opinion testimony : testimony relaying o...
Threats
Threats, or menaces of bodily hurt, through fear of which a man's business is interrupted, are civil injuries affecting the right of personal security. The remedy for this species of injury is in pecuniary damages.By the Larceny Act, 1916, s. 30,Every person who with intent:(a) to extort any valuable thing from any person, or(b) to induce any person to confer or procure for any person any appointment or office of profit or trust,(1)publishes or threatens to publish any libel upon any other person whether living or dead; or(2)directly or indirectly threatens to print or publish or directly or indirectly proposes to abstain from or offers to prevent the printing or publishing of any matter or thing touching any other person (whether living or dead),shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and on conviction thereof liable to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding two years.See also, s. 29 (ibid.), as to threats to accuse of certain serious crimes, and BLACKMAIL.Th...
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