(750 ILCS 60/213.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 2312-13.1)
Sec. 213.1.
Hearsay exception.
In an action for an order of
protection on behalf of a high-risk adult with disabilities, a finding of
lack of capacity to testify shall not render inadmissible any statement as
long as the reliability of the statement is ensured by circumstances
bringing it within the scope of a hearsay exception. The following
evidence shall be admitted as an exception to the hearsay rule whether or
not the declarant is available as a witness:
(1) A statement relating to a startling event or condition made
spontaneously while the declarant was under the contemporaneous or
continuing stress of excitement caused by the event or condition.
(2) A statement made for the purpose of obtaining, receiving, or
promoting medical diagnosis or treatment, including psychotherapy, and
describing medical history, or past or present symptoms, pain, or
sensations, or the inception or general character of the cause or external
source thereof insofar as reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment.
For purposes of obtaining a protective order, the identity of any person
inflicting abuse or neglect as defined in this Act shall be deemed
reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment.
(3) A statement not specifically covered by any of the foregoing
exceptions but having equivalent circumstantial guarantees of
trustworthiness, if the court determines that (A) the statement is offered
as evidence of a material fact, and (B) the statement is more probative on
the point for which it is offered than any other evidence which the
proponent can procure through reasonable efforts.
Circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness include:
(1) the credibility of the witness who testifies the statement was made;
(2) assurance of the declarant's personal knowledge of the event;
(3) the declarant's interest or bias and the presence or absence of
capacity or motive to fabricate;
(4) the presence or absence of suggestiveness or prompting at the time
the statement was made;
(5) whether the declarant has ever reaffirmed or recanted the statement; and
(6) corroboration by physical evidence or behavioral changes in the declarant.
The record shall reflect the court's findings of fact and
conclusions of law as to the trustworthiness requirement.
A statement shall not be admitted under the exception set forth in
this Section unless its proponent gives written notice stating his or her
intention to offer the statement and the particulars of it to the adverse
party sufficiently in advance of offering the statement to provide the
adverse party with a fair opportunity to prepare to meet the statement.
(Source: P.A. 86-542.)
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