Cite as: 512 U. S. 594 (1994)
Opinion of Ginsburg, J.
some of the other actors and thereby inculpating himself on racketeering and/or conspiracy charges, I have no doubt that some of those remarks could be admitted as statements against penal interest. Of course, naming another person, if done, for example, in a context where the declarant is minimizing culpability or criminal exposure, can bear on whether the statement meets the Rule 804(b)(3) standard. The relevant inquiry, however—and one that is not furthered by clouding the waters with manufactured categories such as "collateral neutral" and "collateral self-serving," see, e. g., post, at 612, 618 (Kennedy, J., concurring in judgment)— must always be whether the particular remark at issue (and not the extended narrative) meets the standard set forth in the Rule.
Justice Ginsburg, with whom Justice Blackmun, Justice Stevens, and Justice Souter join, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.
I join Parts I, II-A, and II-B of the Court's opinion. I agree with the Court that Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(3) excepts from the general rule that hearsay statements are inadmissible only "those declarations or remarks within [a narrative] that are individually self-inculpatory." Ante, at 599. As the Court explains, the exception for statements against penal interest "does not allow admission of non-self-inculpatory statements, even if they are made within a broader narrative that is generally self-inculpatory," ante, at 600-601; the exception applies only to statements that are "sufficiently against the declarant's penal interest 'that a reasonable person in the declarant's position would not have made the statement unless believing it to be true.' " Ante, at 603-604, quoting Fed. Rule Evid. 804(b)(3).
Further, the Court recognizes the untrustworthiness of statements implicating another person. Ante, at 601. A person arrested in incriminating circumstances has a strong incentive to shift blame or downplay his own role in compari-
607
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