Res gestae (Latin: "things done") is a term found in substantive and procedural American jurisprudence and English law. In American substantive law, it refers to the start-to-end period of a felony. In American procedural law, it refers to a former exception to the hearsay rule for statements made spontaneously or as part of an act. The English and Canadian version of res gestae is similar, but is still recognized as a traditional exception to the hearsay rule.
In certain felony murder statutes, res gestae is a term defining the overall start-to-end sequence of the underlying felony. Generally, a felony's res gestae is considered terminated when the suspect has achieved a position of relative safety from law enforcement.[1]
Res gestae in American hearsay lawedit
Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, res gestae may formerly have been, but is no longer, an exception to the rule against hearsay evidence based on the belief that, because certain statements are made naturally, spontaneously, and without deliberation during the course of an event, they leave little room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation upon hearing by someone else (e.g., by the witness, who will later repeat the statement to the court), and thus the courts believe that such statements carry a high degree of credibility. Statements that could be admitted into evidence as res gestae fall into three headings:
Words or phrases that either form part of, or explain, a physical act;
Exclamations that are so spontaneous as to belie concoction; and
Statements that are evidence of someone's state of mind.
The present sense impression, excited utterance, and then-existing mental, emotional, or physical condition hearsay exceptions, respective to the above headings, now cover many situations under the Federal Rules of Evidence that would formerly have been considered res gestae.[2]
In some jurisdictions, the res gestae exception has also been used to admit police sketches.[3]
The following scenario is an example of types 1 and 2: Imagine a young woman (the witness) standing on the side of a main road. She sees some commotion across the street. On the opposite side of the road to her, she sees an old man and hears him shout, "The bank is being robbed!", as a young man runs out of a building and away down the street. The old man is never found (and so cannot appear in court to repeat what he said), but the woman repeats what she heard him say. Such a statement would be considered trustworthy for the purpose of admission as evidence because the statement was made concurrently with the event, and there is little chance that the witness repeating the hearsay could have misunderstood its meaning or the speaker's intentions.
Res gestae in American propensity evidence lawedit
Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, res gestae may also be used to demonstrate that certain character evidence, otherwise excludable under the provisions of Rule 404, is permissible, as the events in question are part of the "ongoing narrative", or sequence of events that are necessary to define the action at hand.[4]
Other usesedit
Res gestae is also used to refer to those facts or things done which form the basis or gravamen for a legal action.
Res gestae is also used in the context of the doctrine of respondeat superior, or the law of vicarious liability. Particularly, res gestae refers to time, place, and in the interest of an employer.[5]
Res Gestae is R.G. Collingwood's term for the world of human affairs (as separated from the natural world) in his The Idea Of History (1946), which deals with the philosophy of history.
^"Rule 803. Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay".
^Commonwealth v. Dugan, 381 A.2d 967 (Pa. Super. 1977)
^Furman & England, H. Patrick & Ann (2009). "The Expanding Use of the Res Gestae Doctrine". The Colorado Lawyer.
^Richberger v. American Exp. Co., 73 Miss. 161, 171, 18 So. 922, 923 (1896); Lange v. National Biscuit Co., 297 Minn. 399, 211 N.W.2d 783 MINN 1973, Ravel Law.
^"Res Gestae". Indiana State Bar Association. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
January 01, 1970
gestae, this, article, about, legal, term, autobiography, roman, emperor, augustus, gestae, divi, augusti, other, works, bearing, this, title, gestae, disambiguation, examples, perspective, this, article, deal, primarily, with, united, states, represent, world. This article is about the legal term For the autobiography of the Roman emperor Augustus see Res Gestae Divi Augusti For other works bearing this title see Res Gestae disambiguation The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate February 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Res gestae Latin things done is a term found in substantive and procedural American jurisprudence and English law In American substantive law it refers to the start to end period of a felony In American procedural law it refers to a former exception to the hearsay rule for statements made spontaneously or as part of an act The English and Canadian version of res gestae is similar but is still recognized as a traditional exception to the hearsay rule Contents 1 Res gestae in American substantive law 2 Res gestae in American hearsay law 3 Res gestae in American propensity evidence law 4 Other uses 5 NotesRes gestae in American substantive law editIn certain felony murder statutes res gestae is a term defining the overall start to end sequence of the underlying felony Generally a felony s res gestae is considered terminated when the suspect has achieved a position of relative safety from law enforcement 1 Res gestae in American hearsay law editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Res gestae news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Under the Federal Rules of Evidence res gestae may formerly have been but is no longer an exception to the rule against hearsay evidence based on the belief that because certain statements are made naturally spontaneously and without deliberation during the course of an event they leave little room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation upon hearing by someone else e g by the witness who will later repeat the statement to the court and thus the courts believe that such statements carry a high degree of credibility Statements that could be admitted into evidence as res gestae fall into three headings Words or phrases that either form part of or explain a physical act Exclamations that are so spontaneous as to belie concoction and Statements that are evidence of someone s state of mind The present sense impression excited utterance and then existing mental emotional or physical condition hearsay exceptions respective to the above headings now cover many situations under the Federal Rules of Evidence that would formerly have been considered res gestae 2 In some jurisdictions the res gestae exception has also been used to admit police sketches 3 The following scenario is an example of types 1 and 2 Imagine a young woman the witness standing on the side of a main road She sees some commotion across the street On the opposite side of the road to her she sees an old man and hears him shout The bank is being robbed as a young man runs out of a building and away down the street The old man is never found and so cannot appear in court to repeat what he said but the woman repeats what she heard him say Such a statement would be considered trustworthy for the purpose of admission as evidence because the statement was made concurrently with the event and there is little chance that the witness repeating the hearsay could have misunderstood its meaning or the speaker s intentions Res gestae in American propensity evidence law editUnder the Federal Rules of Evidence res gestae may also be used to demonstrate that certain character evidence otherwise excludable under the provisions of Rule 404 is permissible as the events in question are part of the ongoing narrative or sequence of events that are necessary to define the action at hand 4 Other uses editRes gestae is also used to refer to those facts or things done which form the basis or gravamen for a legal action Res gestae is also used in the context of the doctrine of respondeat superior or the law of vicarious liability Particularly res gestae refers to time place and in the interest of an employer 5 Res Gestae is a publication of the Indiana State Bar Association 6 Res Gestae is R G Collingwood s term for the world of human affairs as separated from the natural world in his The Idea Of History 1946 which deals with the philosophy of history Notes edit res gestae Legal Definition dictionary lawyerment com Retrieved 2024 03 15 Rule 803 Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay Commonwealth v Dugan 381 A 2d 967 Pa Super 1977 Furman amp England H Patrick amp Ann 2009 The Expanding Use of the Res Gestae Doctrine The Colorado Lawyer Richberger v American Exp Co 73 Miss 161 171 18 So 922 923 1896 Lange v National Biscuit Co 297 Minn 399 211 N W 2d 783 MINN 1973 Ravel Law Res Gestae Indiana State Bar Association Retrieved September 28 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Res gestae amp oldid 1213784494, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
