Opinion ID: 1889175
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Statement-Against-Interest Exception

Text: Hearsay is inadmissible unless an exception applies. Minn. R. Evid. 802. Minnesota Rule of Evidence 804(b)(3) provides an exception to the hearsay rule for statements made against a declarant's interest. The rule states that if a declarant is unavailable, a statement is admissible if, at the time of its making, it so far tended to subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability ... that a reasonable person in the declarant's position would not have made the statement unless believing it to be true. Minn. R. Evid. 804(b)(3). [13] Determining the admissibility of declarations against penal interest under Rule 804(b)(3) requires three steps: First, the court must determine if the declarant was unavailable to testify at trial. Second, the court must determine that the statement must at the time of its making ... so far [tend] to subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability... that a reasonable person in the declarant's position would not have made the statement unless believing it to be true. Third, the court must scrutinize the statements to avoid violating the Confrontation Clause. State v. Tovar, 605 N.W.2d 717, 723 (Minn. 2000) (citations omitted).