What does "excited utterance" refer to in legal terms?

The term "excited utterance" in legal terms refers to a statement made during or immediately after an exciting event, which is often considered spontaneous and unreflective. The rationale behind this legal concept is that the excitement of the moment is believed to inhibit the speaker's ability to fabricate or lie. Consequently, such utterances can be deemed as reliable evidence in legal proceedings, particularly in the context of hearsay exceptions.

In this context, it's important to distinguish excited utterances from other types of statements. Official statements made to the police typically involve a degree of reflection and formality, and verbal agreements between two parties usually require negotiation and mutual consent, greatly differing from the spontaneity inherent in excited utterances. Similarly, testimony given in a courtroom is formal, structured, and reflective, often responding to questioning and not the impulsive reactions that characterize excited utterances. This difference in context and nature of statements is what solidifies the definition of "excited utterance" as a unique category in law.