As used in ORS § 40.450 to 40.475, unless the context requires otherwise:

Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 40.450

  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

(1) A ‘statement’ is:

(a) An oral or written assertion; or

(b) Nonverbal conduct of a person, if intended as an assertion.

(2) A ‘declarant’ is a person who makes a statement.

(3) ‘Hearsay’ is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.

(4) A statement is not hearsay if:

(a) The declarant testifies at the trial or hearing and is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement, and the statement:

(A) Is inconsistent with the testimony of the witness and was given under oath subject to the penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing or other proceeding, or in a deposition;

(B) Is consistent with the testimony of the witness and is offered to rebut an inconsistent statement or an express or implied charge against the witness of recent fabrication or improper influence or motive;

(C) Is one of identification of a person made after perceiving the person; or

(D) Purports to interpret an otherwise admissible statement made by another person from one language into another.

(b) The statement is offered against a party and is:

(A) That party’s own statement, in either an individual or a representative capacity;

(B) A statement of which the party has manifested the party’s adoption or belief in its truth;

(C) A statement by a person authorized by the party to make a statement concerning the subject;

(D) A statement by the party’s agent or servant concerning a matter within the scope of the agency or employment, made during the existence of the relationship; or

(E) A statement by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy.

(c) The statement is made in a deposition taken in the same proceeding pursuant to ORCP 39 I. [1981 c.892 § 62; 1987 c.275 § 3; 2019 c.306 § 1]

 

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