R.I. R. Evid. 804

(a) Definition of

Unavailability. “Unavailability as a witness” includes situations in which the

declarant —

(1) is exempted by ruling of the court on the ground of privilege from testifying

concerning the subject matter of the declarant's statement; or

(2) persists in refusing to testify concerning the subject matter of his statement

despite an order of the court to do so; or

(3) testifies to a lack of memory of the subject matter of his or her statement; or

(4) is unable to be present or to testify at the hearing because of death or then

existing physical or mental illness or infirmity; or

(5) is absent from the hearing and the proponent of his or her statement has been

unable to procure the declarant's attendance by process or other reasonable means.

A declarant is not unavailable as a witness if the declarant's exemption, refusal,

claim of lack of memory, inability, or absence is due to the procurement or

wrongdoing of the proponent of the declarant's statement for the purpose of

preventing the witness from attending or testifying.

(b) Hearsay Exceptions. The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule if

the declarant is unavailable as a witness:

(1) Former Testimony. Recorded testimony given as a witness at another hearing

of the same or a different proceeding, or in a deposition taken in compliance with

law in the course of the same or another proceeding, if the party against whom the

testimony is now offered, or, in a civil action or proceeding, a party with similar

motive and interest had an opportunity to develop the testimony by direct, cross, or

redirect examination.

(2) Statement Under Belief of Impending Death. In a prosecution for homicide or

in a civil action or proceeding, a statement made by a declarant while believing that

his or her death was imminent, concerning the cause or circumstances of what the

declarant believed to be his or her impending death.

(3) Statement Against Interest. A statement which was at the time of its making

so far contrary to the declarant's pecuniary or proprietary interest, or so far tended to

subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability, or to render invalid a claim by the

declarant against another, that a reasonable person in the declarant's position would

not have made the statement unless the declarant believed it to be true. A statement

tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the

accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the

trustworthiness of the statement.

(4) Statement of Personal or Family History. (A) A statement concerning the

declarant's own birth, adoption, marriage, divorce, legitimacy, relationship by blood,

adoption, or marriage, ancestry, or other similar fact of personal or family history,

even though the declarant had no means of acquiring personal knowledge of the

matter stated; or (B) a statement concerning the foregoing matters, and death also,

of another person, if the declarant was related to the other by blood, adoption, or

marriage or was so intimately associated with the other's family as to be likely to

have accurate information concerning the matter declared.

(5) Other Exceptions. 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; (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; and (C) the general purposes of these rules and the interests of justice will

best be served by admission of the statement into evidence. However, a statement

may not be admitted under this exception unless the proponent of it makes known to

the adverse party sufficiently in advance of the trial or hearing to provide the adverse

party with a fair opportunity to prepare to meet it, the proponent's intention to offer

the statement and the particulars of it, including the name and address of the

declarant.

(c) Declaration of Decedent Made in Good Faith. A declaration of a deceased

person shall not be inadmissible in evidence as hearsay if the court finds that it was

made in good faith before the commencement of the action and upon the personal

knowledge of the declarant.