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HEARSAY STATEMENT BY AN UNAVAILABLE WITNESS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADMITTED AS A STATEMENT AGAINST PENAL INTEREST.

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Lippman, over a dissenting opinion by Judge Pigott, determined that a statement made by an unavailable witness should have been admitted as a statement against penal interest. The defendant was convicted of driving while intoxicated. The out-of-court statement made by the unavailable witness indicated that she, not the defendant, was driving. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division, reversed defendant's conviction and ordered a new trial. The court held that all of the following elements of the declaration-against-penal-interest exception to the hearsay rule were supported by sufficient evidence at trial:

The declaration-against-interest exception to the hearsay rule “flows from the fact that a person ordinarily does not reveal facts that are contrary to his own interest” unless those facts are true … . A statement qualifies as a declaration against interest if four elements are met: (1) the declarant is unavailable to testify as a witness; (2) when the statement was made, the declarant was aware that it was adverse to his or her penal interest; (3) the declarant has competent knowledge of the facts underlying the statement; and (4) supporting circumstances independent of the statement itself attest to its trustworthiness and reliability … . People v Soto, 2015 NY Slip Op 09316, CtApp 12-17-15

CRIMINAL LAW (STATEMENT AGAINST PENAL INTEREST SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADMITTED)/EVIDENCE (STATEMENT AGAINST PENAL INTEREST SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADMITTED)/HEARSAY (STATEMENT AGAINST PENAL INTEREST SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADMITTED)/STATEMENT AGAINST PENAL INTEREST (REVERSIBLE ERROR TO EXCLUDE)

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