Under the present sense impression rule, which description best states the requirement of admissibility?

• A. The statement must be a description of a past event in a remote recollection.
• B. The statement must be a party-opinion about the event.
• C. The statement must describe an event perceived by the declarant and be made while perceiving or immediately thereafter.
• D. The statement must be a detailed description of a physical object.

Answer: (C)

Present sense impression allows a statement describing an event or condition as it is perceived, and made while perceiving it or immediately after. The requirement is about immediacy and perception—the declarant’s description must reflect what they are actually sensing at the moment, not something remembered later or based on opinion. That’s why the best description is that the statement must describe an event perceived by the declarant and be made while perceiving or immediately thereafter. For example, at the scene of a crash, saying “The car ran the red light” describes what’s being perceived and is said during or right after the perception. Statements about a past event from memory, or opinions about the event, don’t fit as cleanly, and a general detailed description of a physical object doesn’t capture the required contemporaneous perceptual basis.