Home Table of Contents

Rule 804. Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay--When the Declarant Is Unavailable as a Witnes...

Arizona Revised Statutes AnnotatedRules of Evidence for Courts in the State of Arizona

Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated
Rules of Evidence for Courts in the State of Arizona (Refs & Annos)
Article VIII. Hearsay
Arizona Rules of Evidence, Rule 804
Rule 804. Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay--When the Declarant Is Unavailable as a Witness
Currentness
(a) Criteria for Being Unavailable. A declarant is considered to be unavailable as a witness if the declarant:
(1) is exempted from testifying about the subject matter of the declarant's statement because the court rules that a privilege applies;
(2) refuses to testify about the subject matter despite a court order to do so;
(3) testifies to not remembering the subject matter;
(4) cannot be present or testify at the trial or hearing because of death or a then-existing infirmity, physical illness, or mental illness; or
(5) is absent from the trial or hearing and the statement's proponent has not been able, by process or other reasonable means, to procure:
(A) the declarant's attendance, in the case of a hearsay exception under Rule 804(b)(1) or (6); or
(B) the declarant's attendance or testimony, in the case of a hearsay exception under Rule 804(b)(2), (3), or (4).
But this subsection (a) does not apply if the statement's proponent procured or wrongfully caused the declarant's unavailability as a witness in order to prevent the declarant from attending or testifying.
(b) The Exceptions. The following are not excluded by the rule against hearsay if the declarant is unavailable as a witness:
(1) Former Testimony in a Criminal Case. Testimony that:
(A) was made under oath by a party or witness during a previous judicial proceeding or a deposition under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 15.3 shall be admissible in evidence if:
(i) The party against whom the former testimony is offered was a party to the action or proceeding during which a statement was given and had the right and opportunity to cross-examine the declarant with an interest and motive similar to that which the party now has (no person who was unrepresented by counsel at the proceeding during which a statement was made shall be deemed to have had the right and opportunity to cross-examine the declarant, unless such representation was waived) and
(ii) The declarant is unavailable as a witness, or is present and subject to cross-examination.
(B) The admissibility of former testimony under this subsection is subject to the same limitations and objections as though the declarant were testifying at the hearing, except that the former testimony offered under this subsection is not subject to:
(i) Objections to the form of the question which were not made at the time the prior testimony was given.
(ii) Objections based on competency or privilege which did not exist at the time the former testimony was given.
(2) Statement Under the Belief of Imminent Death. In a prosecution for homicide or in a civil case, a statement that the declarant, while believing the declarant's death to be imminent, made about its cause or circumstances.
(3) Statement Against Interest. A statement that:
(A) a reasonable person in the declarant's position would have made only if the person believed it to be true because, when made, it was so contrary to the declarant's proprietary or pecuniary interest or had so great a tendency to invalidate the declarant's claim against someone else or to expose the declarant to civil or criminal liability; and
(B) is supported by corroborating circumstances that clearly indicate its trustworthiness, if it is offered in a criminal case as one that tends to expose the declarant to criminal liability.
(4) Statement of Personal or Family History. A statement about:
(A) the declarant's own birth, adoption, legitimacy, ancestry, marriage, divorce, relationship by blood, adoption, or marriage, or similar facts of personal or family history, even though the declarant had no way of acquiring personal knowledge about that fact; or
(B) another person concerning any of these facts, as well as death, if the declarant was related to the person by blood, adoption, or marriage or was so intimately associated with the person's family that the declarant's information is likely to be accurate.
(5) [Formerly (7) Other exceptions.] [Transferred to Rule 807.]
(6) Statement Offered Against a Party That Wrongfully Caused the Declarant's Unavailability. A statement offered against a party that wrongfully caused--or acquiesced in wrongfully causing--the declarant's unavailability as a witness, and did so intending that result.

Credits

Amended Oct. 19, 1988, effective Nov. 1, 1988; Oct. 3, 1994, effective Dec. 1, 1994; Sept. 3, 2009, effective Jan. 1, 2010; Sept. 8, 2011, effective Jan. 1, 2012.
17A Pt. 1 A. R. S. Rules of Evid., Rule 804, AZ ST REV Rule 804
State Court Rules are current with amendments received through April 1, 2024. The Code of Judicial Administration is current with amendments received through April 1, 2024.
End of Document