Dying Declaration - Law Dictionary Search Results
Home Dictionary Name: dying declarationDying declaration
Dying declaration, The dying declaration is a state-ment by a person as to the cause of his death or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his death and it becomes relevant under s. 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act in a case in which the cause of that person's death comes into question. It is true that a dying declaration is not a deposition in court and it is neither made on oath nor in the presence of the accused. It is, therefore, not tested by cross-examination on behalf of the accused. But a dying declaration is admitted in evidence by way of an exception to the general rule against the admissibility of hearsay evidence, on the principle of necessity, Tapinder Singh v. State of Punjab, (1970) 2 SCC 113: AIR 1970 SC 1566: (1971) 1 SCR 599.(ii) a dying declaration stands on the same footing as any other evidence and it is to be judged in the surrounding circumstances and with reference to the principles governing the weighting of evidence. The court mus...
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...
dying declaration
dying declaration see declaration ...
Dying declarations
Dying declarations. See DEATH-BED DECLARA-TIONS....
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...
excited utterance
excited utterance : a statement that concerns a startling event (as a physical assault) and that is made by a person while under stress caused by the event see also res gestae spontaneous declaration at declaration compare dying declaration at declaration NOTE: Excited utterances are an exception to the hearsay rule. They may be admitted as evidence even if the declarant is available as a witness. ...
res gestae
res gestae [Latin, things done, deeds] 1 : the acts, facts, circumstances, statements, or occurrences that form the environment of a main act or event and esp. of a crime and are so closely connected to it that they constitute part of a continuous transaction and can serve to illustrate its character [the decedent's statement…was too far removed in time and place to be admissible as part of the res gestae "Lynch v. State, 552 N.E.2d 56 (1990)"] 2 a : an exception or set of exceptions to the hearsay rule that permits the admission of hearsay evidence regarding excited utterances or declarations relating to mental, emotional, or bodily states or sense impressions of a witness or participant compare dying declaration and spontaneous declaration at declaration, excited utterance NOTE: Res gestae in common law encompassed a variety of different exceptions to the hearsay rule, but most modern rules of evidence (as the Federal Rules of Evidence) have abandoned use of res gestae and...
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...
Affidavit
Affidavit [fr. affidare, M. Lat., to pledge one's faith, fr. fides, Lat.], a written statement sworn before a person having authority to administer an oath.By the practice of the Supreme Court of Judicature, all evidence is, as a rule, to be given viva voce; but this may be altered by agreement of the parties, or the Court or a judge may for sufficient reason order that any particular fact or facts may be proved by affidavit, or that the affidavit of any witness may be read at the hearing or trial on such conditions as are thought reasonable; provided that no such order be made where a witness can be produced and is bona fide required for cross-examination (R. S. C. 1883, Ord. XXXVII., r. 1). A new Procedure is provided for by R. S. C., Ord. XXXVIII. A., r. 8 J. affidavits must be confined to such facts as the witness is able of his own knowledge to prove, except on interlocutory motions, on which statements as to his belief, with the grounds thereof, may be admitted.As to time for fil...
Dies festi, nefasti, et intercisi
Dies festi, nefasti, et intercisi (businessdays, holidays, and half-holidays).For the purpose of the administration of justice all days were divided by the Romans into fasti and nefasti. Dies fasti were the days on which the pr'tor was allowed to administer justice in the public courts; they derived their names from fari (fari tria verba, do, dico, addico, Ovid, Fast. I. 45, etc. 'Varro, De Ling. Lat. vi. 29, 30, edit. Muller; Macrob., Sat. i. 16). On some of the dies fasti comitia could be held, but not on all, Cic., pro Sect. 15, with the note of Manutius.Dies nefasti were days on which neither courts of justice nor comitia were allowed to be held, and which were dedicated to other purposes. Accord-ing to the ancient legends, they were said to have been fixed by Numa Pompilius, Liv. I. 19. One part of a day might be fastus, while another was nefastus, Ovid, Fast. i. 50....
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