Opinion ID: 2204482
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Statements made by Mrs. Chaplin at the scene.

Text: As already noted Mrs. Chaplin was half led and half carried from her home by the defendant and placed in a reclining position on the lawn. She was bleeding profusely and was suffering mental and physical anguish from the wound she had just received. During the very short period she remained there before the arrival of an ambulance, she made certain statements, the most significant of which were addressed to her husband who remained kneeling beside her. These statements were admitted as dying declarations by the Court. Later in this opinion we will have occasion to discuss the rules applicable to such declarations. Suffice it to say that these declarations were admissible not only as dying declarations, the declarant giving every evidence of her knowledge of impending death and the hopelessness of her case, but also on two other independent grounds. Mrs. Chaplin's utterances on this occasion, following so soon after her traumatic experience as to form a part of it and to negative any opportunity or purpose to fabricate evidence, were admissible as part of the res gestae. In Hersum, Admr. v. Kennebec Water Dist. (1955) 151 Me. 256, 270, 117 A.2d 334, we had occasion to discuss the res gestae rule in these terms: This was no mere narration of a past event. Rather was it a spontaneous explanation uttered in the course of a continuing action. In State v. Maddox, 92 Me. 348 at 353, 42 A. 788 at page 789, the general rule was stated as follows: `It is said in Lander v. People, 104 Ill. 248, that, the true test of the admissibility of such testimony is that the act, declaration or exclamation must be so intimately interwoven with the principal fact or event which it characterizes as to be regarded a part of the transaction itself, and also to clearly negative any premeditation or purpose to manufacture testimony.' 20 Am.Jur. 553, Sec. 662, [2] states in part, `Stated differently, the term res gestae comprehends a situation which presents a startling or unusual occurrence sufficient to produce a spontaneous and instinctive reaction, during which interval certain statements are made under such circumstances as to show lack of forethought or deliberate design in the formulation of their content. Statements which conform to these requirements and which in some way elucidate, qualify, or characterize the act in question are admissible in evidence as a distinct and separate exception to the hearsay rule.' The precise form of the statement does not govern its admissibility. It may be in narrative form and in answer to a question if it meets all the requirements of admissibility as part of the res gestae.  Moreover, admissibility could be predicated on the fact that what Mrs. Chaplin said was spoken either directly to the defendant or as part of a conversation in which defendant was voluntarily participating, a fact fully confirmed later by defendant's own testimony. Where statements were made under these circumstances of such a nature that adverse inferences with respect to material issues could properly be drawn from defendant's responses and statements, the statements made by Mrs. Chaplin became admissible to explain and make meaningful the defendant's responses. People v. Davis (1954) 43 Cal.2d 661, 276 P.2d 801. We find no error in the admission of Mrs. Chaplin's statements at the scene and before her removal to the hospital.