In a civil case, a person is allowed to be a witness even if they have a personal stake in how the case turns out. Their interest in the outcome can be brought up to show they might be biased, but it does not stop them from testifying. Also, if one side of a dispute has died or become mentally incompetent, things that person said before dying or becoming incompetent can be used as evidence in court, as long as the judge decides those statements would have been allowed if that person were still able to testify.
491.010. 's interest does not — — statements of persons and s and other parties to the — of deadman . — 1. No person shall be as a witness in any or , by reason of his interest in the event of the same as a or otherwise, but such interest may be shown for the purpose of affecting his .
2. In any such suit, proceeding or , where one of the parties to the contract, transaction, or , or his in such matter, is dead or is shown to be incompetent, and the or his agent testifies with respect , then any relevant statement or statements made by the deceased party or agent or by the incompetent prior to his incompetency, shall not be excluded as , provided that in trials before a jury, the trial judge shall first determine by examination out of the of the jury that the would have been a and that his alleged statement or statements would have been if he were available to .
3. The of this section shall apply to all trials after September 28, 1985.
(RSMo 1939 § 1887, A.L. 1983 S.B. 44 & 45, A.L. 1985 S.B. 35, et al.)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 1723; 1919 § 5410; 1909 § 6354
Tap any gold-underlined word to see what it means.
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Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.