Michigan Rules of Evidence 21 Last Updated 5/1/2024
testimony is now offered had—or in a civil case, a predecessor in interest had—
an opportunity and similar motive to develop the testimony by direct, or cross,
or redirect examination. For this paragraph (2) only, “unavailability of a
witness” also includes situations in which:
(A) the witness is more than 100 miles from the place of trial or hearing,
or is out of the United States, unless it appears that the witness’s
absence was procured by the party offering the deposition; or
(B) on motion and notice, exceptional circumstances make it desirable—
in the interests of justice and with due regard to the importance of
presenting witnesses’ testimony orally in open court—to allow the
deposition to be used.
(3) Statement Under the Belief of Imminent Death. In a prosecution for
homicide or in a civil case, a statement that the declarant, while believing the
declarant’s death to be imminent, made about its cause or circumstances.
(4) Statement Against Interest. A statement that:
(A) a reasonable person in the declarant’s position would have made only
if the person believed it to be true because, when made, it was so
contrary to the declarant’s proprietary or pecuniary interest or had so
great a tendency to invalidate the declarant’s claim against someone
else or to expose the declarant to civil or criminal liability; and
(B) must be supported by corroborating circumstances that clearly
indicate its trustworthiness, if it tends to expose the declarant to
criminal liability.
(5) Statement of Personal or Family History. A statement about:
(A) the declarant’s own birth, adoption, legitimacy, ancestry, marriage,
divorce, relationship by blood, adoption, or marriage, or similar facts of
personal or family history, even though the declarant had no way of
acquiring personal knowledge about that fact; or
(B) another person concerning any of these facts, as well as death, if the
declarant was related to the person by blood, adoption, or marriage or
was so intimately associated with the person’s family that the
declarant’s information is likely to be accurate.
(6) Statement Offered Against a Party That Wrongfully Caused or Encouraged
the Declarant’s Unavailability. A statement offered against a party that
wrongfully caused—or encouraged—the declarant’s unavailability as a
witness, and did so intending that result.
Rule 805 Hearsay Within Hearsay
Hearsay within hearsay is not excluded by the rule against hearsay if each part of
the combined statements conforms with an exception to the rule.