McNair v. State

Opinion by

PHIL HARDBERGER, Chief Justice.

This case involves an interesting intellectual question: If a defendant is mentally ill, is it possible for that defendant to make a statement against interest or a party opponent admission? Statements against interest and party opponent admissions are generally held admissible as exceptions to the hearsay rule because of the perceived trustworthiness of such statements which stems from the rationalization that people do not say things against their own interest unless they are true. This in turn raises the additional questions of (1) what degree of…