Practice question
A prosecution witness dies before the current trial. The prosecution offers the witness’s testimony from a prior judicial proceeding involving the same parties and subject matter, where the accused had a meaningful opportunity to cross-examine. Assume all applicable evidentiary and procedural conditions are met. The accused says confrontation necessarily bars every use of such testimony despite Rule 115. Which is correct?
- The right always requires impossible recall of every deceased witness
- Rule 115 expressly recognizes the stated prior-testimony situation; the categorical bar is incorrect on the stipulated facts
- A witness’s death automatically convicts the accused
- Any statement by any stranger becomes admissible
- The prosecution need not establish the stipulated conditions
Legal references
- Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 115, Section 1: https://lawphil.net/courts/supreme/rc/rc_110-127_2000.html; Section 1(f).
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