Shelley Moore v. The State of Wyoming, 313 P.3d 505

Moore was convicted of felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor marijuana possession after a jury trial.
He sought to introduce Chauncey Swain’s out-of-court statements claiming the cocaine belonged to Swain.
The district court excluded Swain’s statements as hearsay not meeting the 804(b)(3) statement against interest exception.
On appeal, Moore argued the district court abused its discretion by excluding Swain’s statements.
Swain, the vehicle passenger, was unavailable to testify; his written and recorded statements admitted and challenged whether corroborating circumstances established trustworthiness.
The court affirmed admission exclusion ruling, concluding the statements lacked sufficient corroborating trustworthiness under Rule 804(b)(3).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court abused its discretion admitting 804(b)(3) statements	Moore argues exclusion was error; corroboration exists	Swain's statements were untrustworthy due to friendship and prior inconsistent statements	No abuse of discretion; statements properly excluded

Smith v. State, 2009 WY 2 (Wy. 2009) (trustworthiness requires corroborating facts)
Brown v. State, 953 P.2d 1170 (Wy. 1998) (co-defendant testimony supports trustworthiness)
Sanders v. State, 7 P.3d 891 (Wy. 2000) (corroborating testimony can cure hearsay weakness)
United States v. Jackson, 334 F. App’x 900 (10th Cir. 2009) (corroborating information indicating reliability)
United States v. Garcia, 986 F.2d 1135 (7th Cir. 1993) (co-defendant’s admission with corroboration permissible)
United States v. Slaughter, 891 F.2d 691 (9th Cir. 1989) (corroboration supported admissibility of out-of-court statement)
Hall v. United States, 165 F.3d 109 (7th Cir. 1999) (trustworthiness considerations for hearsay exceptions)
Whyde v. State, 632 P.2d 913 (Wash. App. 1981) (trustworthiness factors for corroboration)