United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

law, a declaration against interest is an exception to the rule on

hearsay Hearsay evidence, in a legal forum, is testimony from an under-oath witness who is reciting an out-of-court statement, the content of which is being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is inadmiss ...

in which a person's statement may be used, where generally the content of the statement is so prejudicial to the person making it that they would not have made the statement unless they believed the statement was true. The Federal Rules of evidence limit the bases of prejudices to the declarant to tort and criminal liability. Some states, such as California, extend the prejudice to "hatred, ridicule, or social disgrace in the community." The admissibility of evidence under the declaration against interest exception to the hearsay rule is often limited by the

Confrontation Clause The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that ''"in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with the witnesses against him."'' The right only applies to cri ...

of the Sixth Amendment. A declaration against interest differs from a

party admission The party admission, in the law of evidence, is a type of statement that appears to be hearsay (an out of court statement) but is generally exempted (excluded) from the definition of hearsay because it was made by a party to the litigation adver ...

because here the declarant does not have to be a party to the case but must have a basis for knowing that the statement is true. Furthermore, evidence of the statement will only be admissible if the declarant is unavailable to testify. For example, California's Evidence Code § 1230 defines "Declarations against interest" as:

References

External links

*https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_804 Hearsay Conflict of interest mitigation {{us-law-stub