Recent Development: Hailes v. State: The State May Appeal a Trial Court\u27s Ruling Excluding a Dying Declaration; The Length of Time Between a Declarant\u27s Statement and Death is Irrelevant in a Dying Declaration Analysis; The Confrontation Clause is Inapplicable to Dying Declarations

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that the State may appeal a trial court’s suppression of a victim’s dying declaration based on the legislative intent of Section 12-302(c)(4)(i) of the Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Procedure Article (“section 12-302(c)(4)(i)”). Hailes v. State, 442 Md. 488, 497-98, 113 A.3d 608, 613-14 (2015). The court further held that a victim’s statement, made while on life support, was a dying declaration regardless of the fact that the victim died two years after making the statement. Id. at 506, 113 A.3d at 618. Finally, the court held that the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not apply to dying declarations