State witness competence rules do not apply in a federal civil action in which state law does not supply the rule of decision for any element of a claim or defense at issue in the action.

Williamson v. United States, 512 U.S. 594, pin? (1994).A statement falls within the federal hearsay exception for statements against interest only if the statement at the time of its making so far contrary to the declarant's pecuniary or proprietary interest, or so far tended to subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability, or to render invalid a claim by the declarant against another, that a reasonable person in the declarant's position would not have made the statement unless believing it to be true.

United States v. Taken Alive, II, 262 F.3d 711, 711-712 (8th Cir. 2001) ("A jury convicted Ralph Emeron Taken Alive, II of violating 18 U.S .C. ? 111, which makes it unlawful to assault, resist, or impede a federal officer engaged in his official duties. Thereafter, the district court sentenced him to a...In a criminal trial accused may offer a pertinent character trait of a victim to show the victim's conduct on a particular occasion; i.e., accused may use victim's character "circumstantially," as "circumstantial" evidence of victim's conduct on a specific occasion.

United States v. Weinstock, 863 F. Supp. 1529, 1535 (D. Utah. 1994) (upholding trial court's admission into evidence of an out-of-court declaration or affidavit of deceased Skondia [which affected an interest in property as he....There is a hearsay exception for a statement in a document (such as a deed) that purports to establish or affect an interest in property if the statement was relevant to the purpose of the document, unless dealings with the property since the document was made have been inconsistent with the truth of the statement or the purport of the document.