Can a spontaneous declaration or excited utterance be considered an exception to the hearsay rule?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Zapata, C076320 (Cal. App. 2016):

A spontaneous declaration or excited utterance is an exception to the hearsay rule that "(a) Purports to narrate, describe, or explain an act, condition, or event perceived by the declarant; and [] (b) Was made spontaneously while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by such perception." (Evid. Code, 1240.) Written statements can be considered spontaneous if they are "not the product of processing information in a deliberative manner." (See People v. Gutierrez (2000) 78 Cal.App.4th 170, 180-181.) In other words, the statements must be written down before the declarant has had time to "contrive and misrepresent." (Ibid.)

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