Dead man statute

Dead man statute

A dead man statute is a statute designed to prevent perjury in a civil case by prohibiting a witness who is an interested party from testifying about communications or transactions with a decedent unless there is a waiver.

This prohibition applies only against a witness who has an interest in the outcome of the case and applies only where that witness is testifying for his own interests and against the interests of the decedent. Furthermore, the restriction only exists in civil cases, never in criminal cases.

The restriction can be waived. A waiver can occur in a number of ways: (1) The decedent's representative fails to object to the testimony; (2) The decedent's representative testifies to the communication; (3) The decedent's testimony is brought before the jury in the form of a deposition or in another form.

In the United States there is no federal law imposing such a restriction, [ [http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rules.htm#Rule601 See Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 601 and accompanying notes] ] but about half of the U.S. States have enacted a dead man statute.

Notes


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