Opinion ID: 1530200
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The hearsay testimony.

Text: At the evidentiary hearing, the four maternal aunts testified regarding statements made to each of them by the mother concerning violence allegedly inflicted upon her by the father. Although the aunts personally observed some evidence of physical abuse between the mother and the father, see Part I.C, infra,  the aunts did not themselves witness the alleged acts of violence by the father. On the contrary, the aunts' testimony consisted primarily (though not exclusively) of assertions that the mother had made to each aunt about the mother's relationship with the father. The trial judge admitted this evidence over the father's hearsay objection. In a written order in limine, the judge ruled that the relevant witness may testify to statements made to her by respondents' mother. In the judge's view, further explicated in Part II.A, infra, the mother (though missing and possibly dead) was a party to the neglect proceedings, and her out-of-court statements were therefore admissible against the father as an admission of [a] party opponent. [3] This decision, and the oral rulings that preceded it, set the rules of engagement for the entire proceeding. As a result of the judge's ruling that statements by the mother to her sisters were admissions of a party opponent, the proceedings consisted largely of the reception of testimony which, for reasons explained below, should have been excluded as inadmissible hearsay evidence. For example, J.D.H.-P., the District's first witness, testified that the mother reported to her, inter alia, 1. that during the summer of 1993, while (the mother) was pregnant with the twins, the father struck her with his fist in the stomach, causing her to be hospitalized; [4] 2. that in an incident that occurred around 3:00 a.m. one morning in 1995, the mother reported to the witness that the father was abusive to her; [5] the mother subsequently told J.D.H.-P. that the bruises on her body were inflicted by the father; [6] 3. that in June 1996, the father came to the mother's place of work and screamed profanities at her, allegedly in front of the children; 4. that in the spring of 1998, the father pulled hair (braids) out of the mother's scalp; [7] 5. that in the summer of 1999, during a family outing, the father pushed the mother in front of the children; 6. that in 1999, the father was not fulfilling his child support obligations; 7. that the father would come home intoxicated after smoking that stuff, and 8. that the father did not make the children wear seat belts, and that as a result, Ti.B. lost a tooth in a car accident while the father was driving. J.D.H.-P. also testified that after the 1993 incident, she had numerous conversations with the mother in which the mother described abusive actions allegedly directed at her by the father. [8]