Tuesday, February 16, 2021

THE DECEDENT'S STATEMENT IS ADMISSIBLE HEARSAY - CNMI LAWYER

This comment from May 31, 2016, recently came to my attention. Now that Apuron, Sammut, and Cristobal are all gone, it is worth reposting for many reasons, but one of which is that is the date Cristobal and Eduvaldo, in the name of the Archdiocese of Agana, i.e. Apuron, publicly threatened to sue me, Tim Rohr, a threat which they have carried out albeit through other operators. But I'll get to that some other time. Meanwhile, here's the very important comment from CNMI Lawyer:

The decedent’s statement is admissible hearsay.

When molestation survivor Joseph A. Quinata made his statement to his mother Doris Concepcion about what happened to him at age 11, he expressly did so because he was about to undergo surgery for a perforated intestine, with only a 30% likelihood of survival, and did in fact pass away shortly thereafter.

Under the law, statements made under the belief of imminent death about the cause of death, such as “He shot me,” are an exception to the normal rule excluding hearsay testimony from court proceedings. Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(2).

Statements in the face of imminent death about other matters are also admissible under the Residual Exception, where “the statement has equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness.” Fed. R. Evid. 807(a)(1).

This is significant because it greatly increases the likelihood of admissibility of Joseph A. Quinata’s statement in any civil or criminal case where it may be relevant.

The hearsay statements of other survivors who are now unavailable (whether through death or an unwillingness to relive the psychological trauma) may very well also be admissible under the Residual Exception, based upon independent indicia of reliability.

But because Joseph A. Quinata’s statement was made under the belief of imminent death, it is quite literally a nail in the coffin of the clerical careers of Guam NCW Cult leaders Archbishop Apuron, Father Sammut, Father Cristobal, et al.

St. Thomas Aquinas posited at least four possible reasons for human suffering, as when a loved one passes away. (1) Free will. (2) Imperfect knowledge. (3) Good from evil. (4) Redemptive suffering -- in union with Christ.

The grief and sorrow experienced by his family upon the death of Joseph A. Quinata may indeed lead directly and proximately to a great spiritual good (# 3), the dissolution of the Guam NCW Cult Leadership.

They should step aside temporarily before they are removed permanently. Let us pray that their counsel gives sound legal advice.

May the faithful of the Archdiocese be strengthened to stand up and speak out for what is right, and to support those in our midst who have suffered and continue to suffer from this criminal conspiracy.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle! 

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