California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Singh, H042511 (Cal. App. 2017):
sufficiently trustworthy to be admissible, the court may take into account not just the words but the circumstances under which they were uttered, the possible motivation of the declarant, and the declarant's relationship to the defendant.' [Citation.]" (People v. Geier (2007) 41 Cal.4th 555, 584 (Geier).) Thus, " '[e]ven when a hearsay statement runs generally against the declarant's penal interest . . . , the statement may, in light of circumstances, lack sufficient indicia of trustworthiness to qualify for admission.' " (Ibid.) " '[I]n this context, assessing trustworthiness " 'requires the court to apply to the peculiar facts of the individual case a broad and deep acquaintance with the ways human beings actually conduct themselves in the circumstances material under the exception.' " ' [Citation.]" (Ibid.)
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