United States v. Ocasio-Ruiz, No. 13-1748 (1st Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of a number of crimes arising out of a carjacking and murder. At trial, Defendant sought to introduce the testimony of the mother of an alleged co-conspirator. The mother was prepared to testify that, shortly before her son’s death, he had confessed that he alone had committed the murder. The district court refused to allow the mother’s testimony, determining that it was inadmissible hearsay under Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(3) because there was no corroboration existing for the hearsay. The jury found Defendant guilty on all four counts. The First Circuit vacated the convictions and remanded, holding (1) the district court erred in finding the testimony inadmissible, as the First Circuit has repeatedly recognized that statements against interest made to a close relation bear some corroborating indicia of truthfulness; and (2) the error was not harmless.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.