Legal Definitions - dying declaration

A dying declaration is a statement made by a person who believes their death is certain and imminent, and who then becomes unavailable to testify in court (typically because they have died). The statement must concern the cause or circumstances of their impending death and must be based on their direct, personal knowledge.

Ordinarily, statements made outside of court, known as "hearsay," are not allowed as evidence because the person who made the statement cannot be questioned directly in court. However, a dying declaration is a special exception to this rule. The law recognizes that a person facing certain death is thought to be highly unlikely to lie, making their final words particularly trustworthy. Therefore, a dying declaration can be admitted as evidence in both civil and criminal cases.

• Example 1: A Witness to a Fatal Shooting

  Imagine a person is shot during a robbery and is bleeding profusely. As paramedics arrive, the victim, gasping for breath and clearly aware they are dying, points to a fleeing individual and says, "He's the one who shot me! He took my wallet!" The victim then loses consciousness and dies shortly after.

  How this illustrates a dying declaration: The victim made a statement under the belief of certain death, identifying the person responsible for their fatal injury. Since the victim is now deceased and cannot testify, this statement, though made out of court, could be admitted as a dying declaration in the criminal trial against the alleged shooter.

• Example 2: A Patient with Terminal Injuries

  Consider a patient hospitalized with severe, life-threatening injuries from a car accident. Doctors have informed her that she has only hours to live. In her final moments, she tells her attending nurse, "The brakes failed completely. I pressed them, but the car just kept going." She then passes away.

  How this illustrates a dying declaration: The patient made a statement believing her death was imminent, and the statement directly related to the circumstances she believed caused her fatal accident (the brake failure). If her family later files a civil lawsuit against the car manufacturer for a defective product, this statement could be presented as a dying declaration.

• Example 3: A Victim of Suspected Arson

  A man is pulled from a burning building with critical burns. As he is being rushed to the ambulance, barely conscious but able to speak a few words, he whispers to a firefighter, "My neighbor, Mark, threw a Molotov cocktail through my window. He threatened me yesterday." The man dies en route to the hospital.

  How this illustrates a dying declaration: The man made a statement while in a critical condition, clearly believing he was about to die, and his words directly implicated his neighbor in the act of arson that led to his death. This statement could be used as evidence in a criminal investigation or trial against the neighbor, even though the victim is no longer alive to testify.