D.C. Court Declines to Follow Federal Hearsay Rule

The U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the hearsay exception for co-conspirators’ statements in Bourjaily v. United States,
483 U.S. 171 (1987), isn’t binding on the local courts in the District of Columbia, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals held Dec. 12. (Jenkins v. United States, D.C., No. 10cf1184)

The Bourjaily court adopted an interpretation of Fed. R. Evid. 104 that allows the admission of a co-conspirator’s hearsay statement even when the only evidence of the conspiracy is the statement itself. The D.C. court pointed out that the Federal Rules of Evidence are not binding on the local ...