Also known as: then existing state of mind · then-existing mental state · state of mind exception · FRE 803(3)
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A hearsay exception admitting a declarant's out-of-court statement of then-existing mental, emotional, or physical condition, including motive, intent, or plan. The exception covers statements offered to prove the condition itself or to show that the declarant later acted in accordance with a stated intent or plan. It excludes statements of memory or belief offered to prove the fact remembered or believed unless the statement concerns the validity or terms of the declarant's will.
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Galen sent a text to his supervisor stating he was heading to Harper's cabin to inspect storm damage and expected to arrive by 4. After Galen disappeared, Harper and Galen's estate offered the text at trial to prove Galen had gone to the cabin. The court admitted the message because it expressed Galen's then-existing plan and allowed the inference that he acted consistently with that plan.
A wife told her friend that her husband would be home late that evening because he planned to stop at a bar after work. The prosecution offered the friend's testimony at the husband's murder trial to show the wife's then-existing belief about her husband's plans. The court admitted the statement because it expressed the wife's contemporaneous mental state and plan without using it to prove the fact believed.
A declarant's statement of then-existing intent or plan is admissible to prove subsequent conduct consistent with the stated intent. The exception applies when the statement describes a present plan and is offered for that forward-looking purpose rather than to prove a past fact. Courts routinely admit such statements because they carry inherent reliability from their spontaneity.
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The exception admits statements that simultaneously describe a declarant's then-existing emotional state and a contemporaneous plan or intent. A statement expressing fear together with an announced intention to leave or proceed is admissible for both purposes when offered to show the mental state at the time of speaking. The presence of both elements does not take the statement outside the exception.
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The exception expressly excludes statements of memory or belief when offered to prove the fact remembered or believed. A statement that embeds an assertion about a past condition or event is inadmissible for that purpose even if it also contains admissible state-of-mind language. Courts must examine whether the proponent seeks to use the memory or belief component for its truth.
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The state-of-mind exception covers internal conditions such as intent, plan, or emotion rather than descriptions of external events. A statement describing what the declarant intends to do or how the declarant feels qualifies under the state-of-mind rule even if it would not qualify as a present-sense impression of an observed event. The two exceptions operate independently.
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