## Facts

- Robert N. Angleton was federally prosecuted in connection with the murder of his wife, Doris Angleton.
- Robert’s defense theory was that his brother, Roger Angleton, committed the murder and that Robert was innocent.
- During Robert’s state murder trial, Roger died by suicide in the Harris County jail; five handwritten “jail notes” were found in his cell afterward.
- The notes included statements confessing that Roger shot Doris and statements asserting Robert was not involved, along with unrelated personal and financial matters.
- Only one note was dated (January 27, 1998), about sixteen days before Roger’s death, and it concerned release of funds from a trust account.
- One note, styled with a “Houston Chronicle” heading and addressed to media recipients, described a plan to create an extortion scenario and to make it appear Robert was involved.
- At least one note stated Roger had taken painkillers and was “past the point of no return,” yet the writing appeared consistent and included multiple postscripts; another note showed shakier writing and referenced painkillers taken to “ease the pain from razor blades.”

## Issues

1. Whether Roger Angleton’s jail notes were inadmissible hearsay when offered to prove Roger committed the murder and Robert did not.
2. If hearsay, whether the notes (in whole or in part) were admissible under Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(2) (dying declaration), 804(b)(3) (statement against interest), 803(2) (excited utterance), or 807 (residual exception).
3. Whether the notes could later be used under Fed. R. Evid. 806 to impeach Roger’s credibility if the government introduced Roger’s hearsay statements.

## Decision

- The court granted the government’s motion in limine and excluded any reference to the jail notes as substantive evidence at trial.
- The court held the notes were hearsay and, on the record presented, did not qualify under Rules 804(b)(2), 804(b)(3), 803(2), or 807.
- The court reserved ruling on whether any portion of the notes might become admissible under Rule 806 for impeachment, depending on how evidence developed at trial.

## Legal Principles

- Out-of-court written assertions offered for their truth are hearsay and are inadmissible absent a valid exception.
- Rule 804(b)(2) requires a showing that the declarant believed death was imminent and that the statement concerned the cause or circumstances of the impending death; writings prepared over time with mixed subject matter may fail this requirement.
- Rule 804(b)(3) requires sufficiently reliable, genuinely self-inculpatory statements; when the declarant is contemplating suicide, the deterrent rationale of penal interest may be weakened, and exculpatory portions offered to aid another are treated skeptically.
- Rule 803(2) requires spontaneity and stress-dominated utterance; reflective, lengthy written notes created after time for composition generally do not qualify.
- Rule 807 requires equivalent guarantees of trustworthiness and is applied narrowly; lack of corroboration and apparent motive to exonerate another can defeat admission.
- Rule 806 may permit impeachment of a hearsay declarant’s credibility if the declarant’s hearsay statements are introduced, but admissibility depends on the trial record.

## Conclusion

The court excluded Roger Angleton’s suicide jail notes as inadmissible hearsay, rejecting multiple hearsay exceptions due to insufficient indicia of imminence, spontaneity, and trustworthiness, while leaving open the possibility of limited impeachment use under Rule 806 if later warranted by the evidence presented at trial.


United States v. Angleton, 269 F. Supp. 2d 878 (S.D. Tex. 2003)