Section 11.35 Rule of Completeness

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

B. (§11.35) Rule of Completeness

The “rule of completeness” requires that statements by the defendant admitted into evidence are not taken out of context. The rule is violated when admission of the defendant’s statement in edited form distorts the true meaning of the defendant’s statement or the editing excludes information that is substantially exculpatory to the defendant. State v. Skillicorn, 944 S.W.2d 877, 891 (Mo. banc 1997) (describes the rule of completeness but finds that it was inapplicable in...