A bystander testifies that he heard the defendant's wife loudly exclaim immediately after the collision, 'The light was red! I can't be'. May this bystander testimony be admitted?

A bystander testifies that he heard the defendant's wife loudly exclaim immediately after the collision, 'The light was red! I can't be'. May this bystander testimony be admitted?

• A. Admissible as an independent hearsay exception
• B. Admissible to prove the effect on the listener
• C. Admissible if the wife would testify
• D. Inadmissible hearsay not within an exception

Answer: (D)

Hearsay and exceptions are the key idea here. The bystander’s testimony is an out-of-court statement by the defendant’s wife, offered to prove that the light was red at the time of the collision. That makes it hearsay. There isn’t an applicable hearsay exception to admit it: the fact that the declarant is the defendant’s spouse does not create a standing exception, and the options that do exist (like present-sense-impression or excited-utterance) apply to statements made by the declarant themselves under those conditions, not to a third party recounting the declarant’s words. So, without a valid exception, the statement cannot be admitted, making this bystander testimony inadmissible hearsay.

Hearsay and exceptions are the key idea here. The bystander’s testimony is an out-of-court statement by the defendant’s wife, offered to prove that the light was red at the time of the collision. That makes it hearsay. There isn’t an applicable hearsay exception to admit it: the fact that the declarant is the defendant’s spouse does not create a standing exception, and the options that do exist (like present-sense-impression or excited-utterance) apply to statements made by the declarant themselves under those conditions, not to a third party recounting the declarant’s words.

So, without a valid exception, the statement cannot be admitted, making this bystander testimony inadmissible hearsay.