- res gestae
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res ges·tae /'rās-'ges-ˌtī, 'rēz-'jes-ˌtē/ n pl [Latin, things done, deeds]1: the acts, facts, circumstances, statements, or occurrences that form the environment of a main act or event and esp. of a crime and are so closely connected to it that they constitute part of a continuous transaction and can serve to illustrate its characterthe decedent's statement...was too far removed in time and place to be admissible as part of the res gestae — Lynch v. State, 552 N.E.2d 56 (1990)2 a: an exception or set of exceptions to the hearsay rule that permits the admission of hearsay evidence regarding excited utterances or declarations relating to mental, emotional, or bodily states or sense impressions of a witness or participant compare dying declaration and spontaneous declaration at declaration 2c, excited utterance◇ Res gestae in common law encompassed a variety of different exceptions to the hearsay rule, but most modern rules of evidence (as the Federal Rules of Evidence) have abandoned use of res gestae and specify the different exceptions on their own terms.b: an exception to the exclusionary rule against the use of other crimes as evidence that permits such use when another crime is closely enough connected to the one in dispute as to form part of a continuous episode or transaction
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- res gestae
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n.(Latin) Things done; a spontaneous remark or declaration made by a person just after an event but before he or she has had a chance to manufacture a falsehood, which is held to be inherently reliable.See also spontaneous exclamation
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
- res gestae
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(rayz-jest-eye) All circumstances surrounding and connected with a happening. Thus, the res gestae of a crime includes the immediate area and all occurrences and statements immediately before and after the crime.Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- res gestae
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n. Latin Things done. Either the events at issue or other things, such as utterances, that are contemporaneous with the res gestae; spontaneous statements or exclamations made by the participants, perpetrators, victims, or onlookers at or immediately following the event, be it criminal or the subject of litigation. As present-sense impressions, they are excluded from the hearsay rule.=>> excited utterance.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- res gestae
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(Latin: Things done.)Secondhand statements considered trustworthy for the purpose of admission as evidence in a lawsuit when repeated by a witness because they were made spontaneously and concurrently with an event.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- res gestae
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I
[Latin, Things done.] Secondhand statements considered trustworthy for the purpose of admission as evidence in a lawsuit when repeated by a witness because they were made spontaneously and concurrently with an event.II The facts or things done which form the basis for a litigation action.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
- res gestae
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[rayz jest-tie]n.from Latin for "things done," it means all circumstances surrounding and connected with a happening. Thus, the res gestae of a crime includes the immediate area and all occurrences and statements immediately after the crime. Statements made within the res gestae of a crime or accident may be admitted in court even though they are "hearsay" on the basis that spontaneous statements in those circumstances are reliable.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
