Opinion ID: 1274871
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Is the Statement of Recent Perception Firmly Rooted?

Text: Our first task under Wright, then, is to determine whether the statement of recent perception exception is a firmly rooted hearsay exception. In Bourjaily v. United States, 483 U.S. 171, 107 S.Ct. 2775, 97 L.Ed.2d 144 (1987), the United States Supreme Court considered whether the co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule was firmly rooted. The Court said: We think that the co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule is firmly enough rooted in our jurisprudence that, under this Court's holding in Roberts, a court need not independently inquire into the reliability of such statements. The admissibility of co-conspirators' statements was first established in this Court over a century and a half ago ... and the Court has repeatedly reaffirmed the exception as accepted practice. In fact, two of the most prominent approvals of the rule came in cases that petitioner maintains are still vital today. To the extent that these cases have not been superseded by the Federal Rules of Evidence, they demonstrate that the co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule is steeped in our jurisprudence. Id. at 183, 107 S.Ct. at 2782-83 (citations omitted). This passage indicates that a court should consider the exception's historical longevity and widespread acceptance to determine whether the exception is firmly rooted. The statement of recent perception exception is not a common law hearsay exception. See 4 Weinstein, supra, ¶ 804(b)(5)[04], at XXX-XXX-XX. Moreover, it has been a part of New Mexico evidence law only since 1973. [4] Apart from New Mexico, only three states, Hawaii, Wyoming, and Wisconsin, have adopted this exception. See Haw.Rev.Stat. R.Evid. 804(b)(5) (1993); Wis.Stat.Ann. § 908.045(2) (West 1993); Wyo.Stat.R.Evid. 804(b)(5) (1978). Wyoming restricts application of this exception to civil cases; thus, only New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Hawaii permit its use in criminal cases. Given the history and very limited acceptance of the statement of recent perception exception, we cannot characterize it as firmly rooted. See Richard A. Gonzales & Nikki J. Mann, Evidence, 17 N.M.L.Rev. 271, 285 (1987).