California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Coleman, 211 Cal.Rptr. 102, 38 Cal.3d 69, 695 P.2d 189 (Cal. 1985):
The trial court rejected all proferred grounds for admission of the letters under any exception to the hearsay rule. The court correctly ruled that the wife's state of mind was not at issue in this case and thus that the documents did not fall within the rule permitting use of out of court declarations to [38 Cal.3d 85] show the state of mind of the declarant. (Evid.Code, 1250; People v. Ireland, supra, 70 Cal.2d 522, 75 Cal.Rptr. 188, 450 P.2d 580.) The court further ruled correctly that the letters did not tend to prove the state of mind of defendant at the relevant time, and that they could not be viewed as adoptive admissions under Evidence Code section 1221.
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