Michigan Supreme Court

People v. Stamper

December 27, 2007480 Mich. 1

Summary

The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed the admission of a four-year-old victim’s statements under the dying-declaration exception to the hearsay rule. It held that a child may be conscious of impending death and that the victim’s statements, viewed alongside his extensive injuries and subsequent death, satisfied the exception’s requirements. The court also held that age alone does not preclude admission and that capacity must be determined case by case.

Holding

  • Whether the victim’s statements qualified as dying declarations despite his age. A child may have the capacity to be conscious of his or her own impending death for purposes of the dying-declaration exception, and the victim’s statements were admissible because the circumstances established that he believed death was imminent and his statements concerned the circumstances of that impending death.

Docket Docket 132887

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