Evidence Commons^™

Supreme Court Rules On Statements Against Interest, The , Michael M. Martin

Faculty Scholarship

Reliability has been defined as "worthy of dependence" or "of proven consistency in producing satisfactory results." It is a common concept as well as a quality for which individuals search in their everyday transactions, such as purchasing a car or selecting an express delivery service. It similarly shapes the rules of evidence pertaining to hearsay. Beth common law and modem evidentiary codes ban the admission of extrajudicial statements offered to prove the truth of a matter asserted because they are not made under oath, in the presence of the trier of fact, and subject to cross-examination. Without these safeguards, the …