12.6.10 Excited Utterances

An excited utterance is a statement relating to a startling event or condition made while the declarant was under the stress or excitement caused by the event or condition.1  Well-written police reports may contain excited utterances by the victim or children to which the police officer may testify. Also keep in mind that other hearsay statements like this that do not fall within the excited utterance exception can sometimes be later admitted in re-direct as a prior consistent statement once the witnesses’ credibility has been attacked.2

• 1La. C.E. art. 803(2).
• 2La. C.E. art. 801(D)(1)(b).