What does Rule 804(b)(4) provide?

What does Rule 804(b)(4) provide?

• A. Dying Declaration
• B. Statement Against Interest
• C. Hearsay Within Hearsay
• D. Forfeiture by Wrongdoing

Answer: (D)

Forfeiture by Wrongdoing is an exception to hearsay that kicks in when a party has done something wrong to procure the witness’s unavailability, and that wrongdoing causes the witness not to testify. The rule provides that a statement by the declarant can be admitted against that party even if, if the declarant had testified, the statement would normally be excluded as hearsay. The key takeaway is that a party cannot benefit from causing a witness to become unavailable; the wrongdoing forfeits the right to exclude the statement. The requirement is that the party intended to procure the witness’s absence and that their misconduct actually caused the unavailability. For example, if a defendant threatens a key witness to prevent testimony, the witness’s prior statement about the defendant’s guilt can be admitted against the defendant, despite the witness being unavailable, because the unavailability resulted from the defendant’s wrongdoing. This is distinct from dying declarations or statements against interest, which come from other subsections, and from hearsay within hearsay rules.

Forfeiture by Wrongdoing is an exception to hearsay that kicks in when a party has done something wrong to procure the witness’s unavailability, and that wrongdoing causes the witness not to testify. The rule provides that a statement by the declarant can be admitted against that party even if, if the declarant had testified, the statement would normally be excluded as hearsay. The key takeaway is that a party cannot benefit from causing a witness to become unavailable; the wrongdoing forfeits the right to exclude the statement. The requirement is that the party intended to procure the witness’s absence and that their misconduct actually caused the unavailability.

For example, if a defendant threatens a key witness to prevent testimony, the witness’s prior statement about the defendant’s guilt can be admitted against the defendant, despite the witness being unavailable, because the unavailability resulted from the defendant’s wrongdoing. This is distinct from dying declarations or statements against interest, which come from other subsections, and from hearsay within hearsay rules.