Admission of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Maurice Dimitrie Moore

Case No.: 15-1785

Officials: PONSER and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges, and PALLMEYER, District Judge

Focus: Admission of Evidence

Court vacates order admitting probation officer records of phone calls into evidence under residual hearsay exception.

“We have warned against the liberal admission of evidence under Rule 807, see Akrabawi v. Carnes Co., 152 F.3d 688, 697 (7th Cir. 1998) (cautioning against the frequent utilization of Rule 807, lest the residual exception become “the exception that swallows the hearsay rule”), but in the circumstances of this case, the exception is particularly apt. Hayden’s statements in the Reports bear markers of reliability that are equivalent to those found in statements specifically covered by Rule 803 or Rule 804. The purpose of Rule 807 is to make sure that reliable, material hearsay evidence is admitted, regardless of whether it fits neatly into one of the exceptions enumerated in the Rules of Evidence. That purpose is served by admitting the Reports, and the district court erred in excluding them from Moore’s trial. See Dumeisi, 424 F.3d at 577 (affirming the admission of foreign intelligence documents under Rule 807 in the trial of defendant accused of acting as an agent of the Iraqi government); Huff v. White Motor Corp., 609 F.2d 286, 295 (7th Cir. 1979) (vacating district court’s order excluding testimony that recounted statements made by plaintiff’s deceased husband regarding the car accident that gave rise to the suit because the statements had circumstantial guaranties of trustworthiness equivalent to the other hearsay exceptions)”

Vacated and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.