Hearsay Exceptions: Declarant Availability Immaterial - Next Generation Bar Exam

1. Under FRE 807, what is required to admit a hearsay statement under the residual exception?

   Sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness and greater probative value than other reasonably obtainable evidence. Reasonable written notice to the adverse party is also required.

2. Under FRE 803(16), what qualifies as an ancient document?

   A document prepared before January 1, 1998, whose authenticity is established. The 2017 amendment limited the exception to documents prepared before that date.

3. Under FRE 803(2), what is an excited utterance?

   A statement relating to a startling event, made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement it caused. Unlike a present sense impression, it may be made after some delay if the stress continues.

4. Under FRE 803(6), what are the core requirements for a business record?

   Made at or near the time by a person with knowledge, kept in regular activity, and made as a regular practice. Foundation may come from a custodian, a qualified witness, or a certification, unless the opponent shows untrustworthiness.

5. Under FRE 803(3), what statements of a declarant's then-existing condition are admissible?

   Statements of the declarant's then-existing state of mind, emotion, sensation, or physical condition. Statements of memory or belief offered to prove the fact remembered are excluded, except regarding the declarant's will.

6. A pedestrian, 30 seconds after seeing a car crash, shouts, 'That blue car ran the light!' while trembling. Under which exception is the statement most clearly admissible?

   The excited utterance exception, FRE 803(2). The statement relates to a startling event and was made under its stress.

7. Under FRE 803(22), when is a judgment of a previous conviction admissible to prove a fact essential to it?

   When it followed a trial or a guilty plea to a crime punishable by more than one year. Nolo contendere pleas do not qualify, and the prosecution may use others' convictions only for impeachment.

8. Under FRE 803(4), what statements made for medical diagnosis or treatment are admissible?

   Statements reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment describing history, symptoms, or their general cause. Statements of fault are ordinarily not pertinent, and the statement may be made to non-physicians.

9. Under FRE 803(5), what are the requirements for a recorded recollection?

   The witness once knew the matter, cannot now recall it well enough, and made or adopted an accurate record while fresh. The record may be read into evidence but received as an exhibit only if offered by the adverse party.

10. Under FRE 803(1), what is a present sense impression?

    A statement describing an event or condition made while or immediately after the declarant perceived it. Contemporaneity reduces the risk of conscious fabrication.

11. Under the Hillmon doctrine, for what may a statement of the declarant's intent be offered?

    To prove that the declarant later acted in accordance with that intent. Courts are divided on using it to prove the conduct of another person.

12. Under FRE 803(18), how may a learned treatise be used?

    Statements may be read into evidence if established as reliable authority and called to an expert's attention. The treatise itself may not be received as an exhibit.

13. Under FRE 803(7), what may the absence of an entry in a business record be used to prove?

    That the matter did not occur or exist, if a record would regularly have been kept. The exception does not apply if the circumstances indicate a lack of trustworthiness.

14. Under FRE 803(8), what public records are inadmissible against a criminal defendant?

    Matters observed by law-enforcement personnel. Factual findings from a legally authorized investigation are admissible in civil cases and against the government in criminal cases.

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