Opinion ID: 1975189
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Time of the Declaration and the Party to Whom it Was Made

Text: A number of courts have focused on the time of the declaration in determining whether the statement is trustworthy. This focus on time is based on the notion that declarations made shortly after the crime for which an accused is charged are often more reliable than those made after a lapse of time. Courts therefore have been more solicitous of those declarations because the absence of reflection under some circumstances may lessen the opportunity for fabrication. For example, in Chambers v. Mississippi, supra , the Court observed that the fact that the declaration was made shortly after the crime was a strong indication of reliability. Id. at 300, 93 S.Ct. 1038. In contrast, the court in United States v. Guillette, supra , found that the declarant's inculpatory statement which was made some four months after the crime was too attenuated and remote to provide assurance of reliability. Id. at 759. See United States v. Satterfield, 572 F.2d 687, 690 (9th Cir.1978) (two year lapse between crime and declaration casts doubt on reliability of statement). [14] Of course the mere fact that the declaration was made after a lapse of time does not in and of itself render the statement unreliable. Reflection may also generate a trustworthy statement. The existence of a close relationship between the declarant and the witness also may provide indications of trustworthiness. When the declarant reveals the inculpatory statement to close friends and relatives, some courts have found this to be a sufficient indication of reliability, see, e. g., Chambers v. Mississippi, supra, 410 U.S. at 300, 93 S.Ct. 1038; Debinder v. United States, supra, 112 U.S.App.D.C. at 344, 303 F.2d at 204, because it indicates that the declarant was aware of his potential criminal liability and therefore revealed the statement only to those persons whom he thought he could trust. The guarantee of trustworthiness stems from the existence of no motive on the part of the declarant to falsify. [15] However, the declarant may make an inculpatory statement to an individual or public official with whom he has no close relation, yet the statement may display strong indications of reliability. See, e. g., United States v. Thomas, 571 F.2d 285, 290 (5th Cir.1978) (fact that inculpatory declaration was made to the United States Magistrate presents strong assurance of reliability); Thomas v. State, supra, 186 Md. at 447-48, 47 A.2d at 44 (the declarant confessed to police officers during the course of their investigation of the crime for which the accused was later charged). An inculpatory statement made to a police officer may be distinctly trustworthy because the declarant may be assumed to have been immediately aware of the consequences of such a statement. At the same time, a motive to falsify and exculpate oneself may be present in communicating with the police, and a trial judge will take this possibility into consideration when initially determining the inculpatory nature of the proffered statement.