Chapter 3 - §22. Exception—Rule of completeness

• Jurisdiction: United States

§22. Exception—Rule of completeness

Although not delineated in the Evidence Code as a hearsay exception, nor exclusively used for the purpose of admitting hearsay evidence, Evid. C. §356 permits the court to admit evidence that would otherwise be considered inadmissible hearsay. See People v. Vines (2011) 51 Cal.4th 830, 862 (recognizing "the hearsay exception embodied in Evid. C. §356"), overruled on other grounds, People v. Hardy (2018) 5 Cal.5th 56. Under Evid. C. §356, if evidence of one part of a conversation, declaration, or writing is admitted into evidence, the opposing party can introduce other parts of that conversation, declaration, or writing to the extent they are on the same subject as the first part admitted and necessary to the understanding of the statement. See U.S. v. Lopez (9th Cir.2021) 4 F.4th 706, 715 (discussing FRE 106); People v. Hardy (2018) 5 Cal.5th 56, 104. The fact that the other parts of the conversation, declaration, or writing are hearsay does not exclude their admission. See Lopez, 4 F.4th at 715 (discussing FRE 106); Vines, 51 Cal.4th at 861-62. Furthermore, in the context of the Sixth Amendment, if the first part of a statement is introduced by the defendant, and the rest of the statement introduced by the prosecution under Evid. C. §356 is a hearsay declaration harmful to the defendant, the defendant cannot complain that the statement is inadmissible because it violates the defendant's constitutional right to confront the declarant. Vines, 51 Cal.4th at 862. Unlike some hearsay exceptions that purport to replace the prescribed method of assessing reliability (i.e., cross-examination) under the Confrontation Clause, Evid. C. §356 does not function in that manner. Vines, 51 Cal.4th at 862. Instead, Evid. C. §356 is founded on the equitable notion that a party who elects to introduce part of a conversation is prohibited from objecting on Confrontation Clause grounds to the opposing party introducing other parts of the conversation that are necessary to make the entirety of...