People v. Barrett

At issue in this case is whether MRE 803(2),1 the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule, requires as a prerequisite to the admission of an out-of-court statement that a startling event or condition be established without considering the out-of-court statement itself. We conclude that the plain language of the rule, when applied as instructed by MRE 1101(b)(1)2 and MRE 104(a),3 allows the court to con*128sider the statement along with other evidence to prove the existence of a startling event or condition. Accordingly, we overrule People v Burton, 433 Mich 268; 445 NW2d 133 (1989), to…