Shepard v. United States
United States Supreme Court
290 U.S. 96 (1933)
Relevant factsFree
Shepard's (defendant) wife told her nurse he had poisoned her, but she expressed hope to her doctor that she would recover and did not appear to believe death was imminent at the time; the lower courts admitted this statement as a dying declaration to convict Shepard of murder, and the court of appeals also tried, on appeal, to justify admission under the separate state-of-mind exception.
IssueFree
Whether an out-of-court statement made by a declarant who is not in imminent expectation of death is admissible under the dying-declaration exception to the hearsay rule.