Opinion ID: 702362
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Exclusion of Hearsay Testimony

Text: 33 Next, the Benedicts argue that the district court erred in excluding the hearsay testimony of several witnesses who had heard Benedict say that he had been or was going to be laid off from his employment at Mid-Plains. The court admitted the testimony of two such witnesses, Patrick Benedict and John Twitty. Patrick's admitted testimony also included Benedict's statement that he was flying to Springdale for a vacation and to study for his pilot's license. 34 The Benedicts argue that the testimony of the remaining witnesses was admissible under Rule 803(3) as [a] statement of the declarant's then existing state of mind, emotion, sensation, or physical condition (such as intent, plan, motive, design, mental feeling, pain, and bodily health), but not including a statement of memory or belief to prove the fact remembered or believed.... Fed.R.Evid. 803(3). 7 We find, however, that the statements the Benedicts seek to have admitted are offered to prove the fact remembered or believed, not to show Benedict's state of mind. Excepting one, which we will discuss briefly below, each statement consists of Benedict's stating that he had been or was about to be laid off. These are statements of memory or belief, not of emotion or intent, and the only purpose for which the Benedicts can reasonably be introducing these statements is to prove that Benedict had, in fact, been laid off before the crash, and was therefore not a Mid-Plains employee at the time of the crash. Such statements are not admissible under Rule 803(3), and the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the testimony of these witnesses. 35 The one statement that, from the record before us, appears to be properly admissible under Rule 803(3) is that of Chad Benedict, who had been told by Benedict that he intended to study for his pilot's license and build flying hours during his time off. See Firemen's Fund, 8 F.3d at 1313. This statement, however, merely repeats, with less specificity, Patrick Benedict's testimony admitted by the court, and its exclusion was harmless error. 36