self-serving

Self-serving, in a legal context, refers to a statement or answer to a question that serves no purpose and provides no evidence, but only argues or reinforces the legal position of a particular party in a lawsuit. Courts have consistently held that self-serving statements with no evidentiary value are inadmissible evidence. 

Gamble v. Browning, 277 SW 3d 723 - Mo: Court of Appeals, Western Dist. (2008), explains that “a ‘self-serving statement’ is a statement made by a party in his own interest at some place and time out of court, and does not include testimony which he gives as a witness at the trial.”

Additionally, U.S. v. Blake, 195 F. Supp. 3d 605 - Dist. Court, SD New York (2016), explains that “a ‘self-serving statement,’ for purposes of determining whether the statement is admissible in trial, is one that tends to reduce the charges or mitigate the punishment for which the declarant might be liable.”

[Last reviewed in April of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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