A thing or matter is sufficiently authenticated to be admissible in evidence if the authenticating evidence submitted to the trial court is sufficient -- strong enough -- to permit a reasonable jury or reasonable trier of fact to conclude that the proffered thing or matter is authentic, that the proffered thing or matter is what its proponent claims it is.

United States v. May, 622 F.2d 1000, 1007 (9th Cir. 1980) (upholding trial court's admission of the Apprehension Data Cards as non-hearsay evidence because the written contents of the Apprehension Data Cards were not....If a statement is assertive -- that is, if the declarant's statement does assert that some matter is true -- the statement is nevertheless non-hearsay if the statement is offered to prove that some matter other than the asserted matter is true.

United States v. Fox, 473 F.2d 131, 134 (D.C. Cir. 1972) ("The defendant himself, however, may, if he chooses, offer evidence of his good character by presenting witnesses attesting to his reputation in the community").A criminal defendant may offer a pertinent trait of his or her character circumstantially -- to show the defendant's doing or non-doing of a specific act.

Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(2) (exception applicable "[i]n a prosecution for homicide or in a civil action or proceeding").The federal hearsay exception for dying declarations is applicable only in (1) civil actions and (2) prosecutions for homicide; i.e., the exception is not applicable in criminal prosecutions for crimes other than homicide.