M E M O
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Gerhard Raedeke
RE: Rules 803 and 804, N.D.R.Evid.; Hearsay Exceptions
Rules 803 and 804, N.D.R.Evid., contain hearsay exceptions patterned after Rules 803 and 804, Fed.R.Evid. Effective December 1, 1997, the federal rules were amended to transfer the catch-all hearsay exception for statements having comparable circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness to a new Rule 807. The purpose of the federal amendments is simply to facilitate new amendments to Rules 803 and 804.
A new hearsay exception has also been added to the federal rules. "Rule 804(b)(6) has been added to provide that a party forfeits the right to object on hearsay grounds to the admission of a declarant's prior statement when the party's deliberate wrongdoing or acquiescence therein procured the unavailability of the declarant as a witness." See 1997 Committee Note, Rule 804, Fed.R.Evid.
Does the Committee want to follow the federal amendments by adopting a hearsay exception providing for "forfeiture by wrongdoing," and by transferring the catch-all hearsay exceptions to a new Rule 807?