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9 Massachusetts opinions name it 3 courts 1986–2025 1 in the last five years
The cases below were cited by Massachusetts courts in a sentence that names this issue. Sides come from how each citing opinion treated the case (Syfertize flag on that citation), so a case can appear on both: that is where the law is contested. A red or yellow chip is the case's own overall treatment.
| Case | Followed | Cited |
|---|---|---|
Commonwealth v. Drewgreen2 sentences2014An out-of-court statement “is admissible under the penal interest exception if (1) the declarant’s testimony is unavailable; (2) the statement so far tends to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable person in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true; and (3) the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, is corroborated by circumstances clearly indicating its trustworthiness.” Commonwealth v. Charles, 428 Mass. 672, 677 (1999), citing Commonwealth v. Drew, 397 Mass. 65, 73 (1986). 2003“A statement is admissible under the penal interest exception if (1) the declarant’s testimony is unavailable [2] ; (2) the statement so far tends to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable person in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true; and (3) the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, is corroborated by circumstances clearly indicating its trustworthiness.” Commonwealth v. Charles, 428 Mass. 672, 677 (1999), citing Commonwealth v. Drew, 397 Mass. 65, 73 (1986). | 4 | 4 |
Commonwealth v. Charlesgreen2 sentences2019"An out-of-court statement 'is admissible under the penal interest exception [to the hearsay rule] if (1) the declarant's testimony is unavailable; (2) the statement so far tends to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable person in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true; and (3) the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, is corroborated by circumstances clearly indicating its trustworthiness.' " Commonwealth v. Carriere , 470 Mass. 1 , 17, 18 N.E.3d 326 (2014), quoting Commonwealth v. Charles , 428 Mass. 672 , 677, 704 N.E 2019"An out-of-court statement 'is admissible under the penal interest exception [to the hearsay rule] if (1) the declarant's testimony is unavailable; (2) the statement so far tends to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable person in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true; and (3) the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, is corroborated by circumstances clearly indicating its trustworthiness.' " Commonwealth v. Carriere , 470 Mass. 1 , 17, 18 N.E.3d 326 (2014), quoting Commonwealth v. Charles , 428 Mass. 672 , 677, 704 N.E | 3 | 4 |
Commonwealth v. Carrieregreen2 sentences2025"An out-of-court statement 'is admissible under the penal interest exception [to the hearsay rule] if (1) the declarant's testimony is unavailable; (2) the statement so far tends to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable person in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true; and (3) the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, is corroborated by circumstances clearly indicating its trustworthiness.'" Commonwealth v. Bonnett, 482 Mass. 838, 847 (2019), quoting Commonwealth v. Carriere, 470 Mass. 1, 17 (2014). 2019"An out-of-court statement 'is admissible under the penal interest exception [to the hearsay rule] if (1) the declarant's testimony is unavailable; (2) the statement so far tends to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable person in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true; and (3) the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, is corroborated by circumstances clearly indicating its trustworthiness.' " Commonwealth v. Carriere , 470 Mass. 1 , 17, 18 N.E.3d 326 (2014), quoting Commonwealth v. Charles , 428 Mass. 672 , 677, 704 N.E | 1 | 2 |
Commonwealth v. Bonnettgreen1 sentence2025"An out-of-court statement 'is admissible under the penal interest exception [to the hearsay rule] if (1) the declarant's testimony is unavailable; (2) the statement so far tends to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable person in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true; and (3) the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, is corroborated by circumstances clearly indicating its trustworthiness.'" Commonwealth v. Bonnett, 482 Mass. 838, 847 (2019), quoting Commonwealth v. Carriere, 470 Mass. 1, 17 (2014). | 1 | 1 |
Commonwealth v. Carmonagreen1 sentence2001See Commonwealth v. Carmona, 428 Mass. 268, 271-272 (1998), quoting Commonwealth v. Robles, 423 Mass. 62, 69 (1996) (“When a party introduces a portion of a statement or writing in evidence the doctrine of verbal completeness allows admission of other relevant portions of the same statement or writing which serve to ‘clarify the context’ of the admitted portion .... | 1 | 1 |
Commonwealth v. Roblesgreen1 sentence2001See Commonwealth v. Carmona, 428 Mass. 268, 271-272 (1998), quoting Commonwealth v. Robles, 423 Mass. 62, 69 (1996) (“When a party introduces a portion of a statement or writing in evidence the doctrine of verbal completeness allows admission of other relevant portions of the same statement or writing which serve to ‘clarify the context’ of the admitted portion .... | 1 | 1 |
Commonwealth v. Popegreen1 sentence1996“A statement is admissible under the penal interest exception if the declarant’s testimony is unavailable, the statement so far tends to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable person in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true, and the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, is corroborated by circumstances clearly indicating its trustworthiness.” Commonwealth v. Pope, 397 Mass. 275, 279 (1986). 7 See Proposed Mass. R. | 1 | 1 |
| Case | Negative | Cited |
|---|---|---|
| No negative-treatment citations attached to this issue in Massachusetts. Read the followed side critically anyway. | ||
| Case | Cited | Years |
|---|---|---|
Commonwealth v. Carr
green
1 sentence1986In Commonwealth v. Carr, 373 Mass. 617 (1977), we adopted in substance principles expressed in Rule 804(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Evidence (1985), 6 governing the admissibility of statements against interest. | 1 | 1986–1986 |
Counted by distinct opinions that both name this issue and are annotated to the section; sections every opinion cites regardless of issue are not filtered here, so read the counts against the total above.
Opinions by the citing court's state. A doctrine retained in one state and abandoned in another shows up here as a year span that stalls.