Excited Utterance - Law Dictionary Search Results

Home Dictionary Name: excited utterance

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. ...

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...

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...

Magna Carta

Magna Carta, [Latin 'great charter'] The English charter that King John granted to the barons in 1215 and Henry III and Edward I later confirmed. It is generally regarded as one of the great common-law documents and as the foundation of constitution liberties. The other three great charters of English Liberty are the Petition of Right (3 Car. (1628)), the Habeas Corpus Act (31 Car. 2 (1679)), and the Bill of Rights (1 Will. SM. (1689)). Also spelled Magna charta, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 963.This Great Charter is based substantially upon the Saxon Common Law, which flourished in this kingdom until the Normaninvasion consolidated the system of feudality, still the great characteristic of the principles of real property. The barons assembled at St.Edmund's Bury, in Suffolk, in the later part of the year 1214, and there solemnly swore upon the high alter to withdraw their allegiance from the Crown, and openly rebel, unless King John confirmed by a formal charter the ancient li...

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