In accordance with our policy of protecting the privacy interests of the victims of sexual abuse, we decline to identify the victim or others through whom the victim’s identity may be ascertained. See General Statutes § 54-86e.

Section 8-3 of the Connecticut Code of Evidence provides in relevant part: “The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness ....

“(4) ... A statement of the declarant’s then-existing mental or emotional condition, including a statement indicating a present intention to do a particular act in the immediate future, provided that the statement is a natural expression of the condition and is not a statement of memory or belief to prove the fact remembered or believed. . . .”

We granted the defendant’s petition for certification to appeal, limited to the following issue: “Did the Appellate Court properly conclude that the trial court properly excluded as hearsay a statement made by the victim to an acquaintance?” State v. Saucier, 275 Conn. 928, 883 A.2d 1251 (2005).

The defendant also claimed in the Appellate Court that “the trial court improperly (1) prohibited him from cross-examining the victim about her 2000 federal income tax return . . . [and] (2) prohibited him from presenting the victim's alias to the jury and from testifying about the victim’s use of an alias to avoid creditors . . . State v. Saucier, supra, 90 Conn. App. 134. The Appellate Court also rejected these claims, which are not before us in this certified appeal. Id., 139, 142-13.

The defendant’s entire argument before the trial court was as follows:

“The Court: How do you claim [the statement’s admissibility] . . . ?

“[Defense Counsel]: Three ways, Your Honor. The first way is I would claim that it is an out-of-court statement, not hearsay if it’s offered to illustrate circumstantially the declarant’s then existing state of mind rather than the truth of the matter asserted. The state of mind, my contention being, she was aware of the fact the accusations were fabricated.

“Secondly, I would ask that it be introduced as a statement offered solely to impeach a witness such as a prior inconsistent statement which is not hearsay use of the statement. It’s not offered to prove the — it’s offered to prove it was made, but not that it was true.

“Thirdly, I would again go back to the area of the residual exception. Residual exception can take place when there’s reasonable necessity for the admission of such a statement when it’s supported by adequate basis of assurance that the evidence has those qualities of reliability and trustworthiness attributable to other evidence.

“He has indicated he was a friend of [the victim] for a couple of years. [The victim] confided in him as far as things in her life was concerned. This was an issue of her confiding with him the day after an act of alleged sexual assault took place. I think there’s an adequate basis of assurance that this evidence has the qualities of reliability and trustworthiness that are needed. I also think there’s a reasonable necessity for it to be admitted in order for the jury to understand the true situation. So, for those three reasons, I’d ask the court to allow the statements to be testified in front of the jury.”

With respect to the defendant’s other arguments in support of the statement’s admissibility; see footnote 5 of this opinion; the trial court concluded that the statement also was inadmissible: (1) as a prior inconsistent statement; see Conn. Code Evid. § 6-10; because the defendant had not laid the proper foundation by asking the victim about it when she testified; and (2) under the residual exception to the hearsay rule; see Conn. Code Evid. § 8-9; because it lacked reliability given both the statement’s ambiguity, and the fact that Hoban did not know the victim well enough to know her last name.

The Appellate Court recently observed in Brown v. Bright Clouds Ministries, Inc., 94 Conn. App. 181, 184 n.2, 891 A.2d 999, cert. denied, 278 Conn. 907, 899 A.2d 35 (2006), that “[a]t least three of [its] decisions state that the admissibility of evidence pursuant to an exception to the rule against hearsay is a question of law subject to plenary review. See State v. Saucier, [supra, 90 Conn. App. 144]; Doe v. Christoforo, 87 Conn. App. 359, 363, 865 A.2d 444, cert. granted on other grounds, 273 Conn. 920, 871 A.2d 1027 (2005) (appeal withdrawn October 13, 2005); State v. Gonzalez, [supra, 75 Conn. App. 375].” The Appellate Court attempted in Brown to reconcile these decisions with the well established abuse of discretion standard of review *215that our appellate courts generally apply to evidentiary rulings; see State v. Skakel, 276 Conn. 633, 724, 888 A.2d 985, cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1030, 127 S. Ct. 578, 166 L. Ed. 2d 428 (2006) (“[t]he trial court’s ruling on evidentiary matters will be overturned only upon a showing of a clear abuse of the court’s discretion” [internal quotation marks omitted]); State v. Cortes, 276 Conn. 241, 254, 885 A.2d 153 (2005) (same); noting that “[p]lenaiy review is appropriate, however, only when an evidentiary ruling involves a clear misconception of the law.” Brown v. Bright Clouds Ministries, Inc., supra, 184 n.2; State v. Aaron L., 272 Conn. 798, 811 n.19, 865 A.2d 1135 (2005) (noting that, in considering “whether the trial court properly ruled that the si atement at issue fell within the medical treatment exception to the hearsay rule, apure question of law, the Appellate Court conducted a de novo review, concluding that the trial court’s ruling was legally incorrect”). We also bear responsibility for the confusion by pronouncing broad generalities. See, e.g., State v. Rizzo, 266 Conn. 171, 285, 833 A.2d 363 (2003) (“[b]ecause the rules of evidence applied [to the state’s burden of proof of aggravating factors], we review the defendant’s claim under the abuse of discretion standard”).

See United States v. Brown, 441 F.3d 1330, 1359 (11th Cir. 2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1182, 127 S. Ct. 1149, 166 L. Ed. 2d 998 (2007); United States v. Washington, 434 F.3d 7, 14 (1st Cir. 2006); United States v. Dazey, 403 F.3d 1147, 1165-66 (10th Cir. 2005); United States v. Slaughter, 386 F.3d 401, 403 (2d Cir. 2004); United, States v. Breland, 356 F.3d 787, 792 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 542 U.S. 944, 124 S. Ct. 2924, 159 L. Ed. 2d 825 (2004); United States v. Alexander, 331 F.3d 116, 121-22 (D.C. Cir. 2003); United States v. Solis, 299 F.3d 420, 443 (5th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Mendez v. United States, 537 U.S. 1060, 123 S. Ct. 640, 154 L. Ed. 2d 543 (2002); United States v. Jackson, 124 F.3d 607, 618 (4th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1066, 118 S. Ct. 733, 139 L. Ed. 2d 670 (1998); Kolmes v. World Fibers Corp., 107 F.3d 1534, 1542 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Queen v. Belcher, 888 So. 2d 472, 477 (Ala. 2003); Wyatt v. State, 981 P.2d 109, 112 (Alaska 1999); State v. Montano, 204 Ariz. 413, 426, 65 P.3d 61 (2003); Dednam v. State, 360 Ark. 240, 243, 200 S.W.3d 875 (2005); People v. Guerra, 37 Cal. 4th 1067, 1113, 129 P.3d 321, 40 Cal. Rptr. 3d 118 (2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1182, 127 S. Ct. 1149, 166 L. Ed. 2d 998 (2007); In re Water Rights of Central Colorado Water Conservancy District v. Greeley, 147 P.3d 9, 17 n.7 (Colo. 2006); Walton v. State, 821 A.2d 871, 878 (Del. 2003); International Biochemical Industries, Inc. v. Jamestown Management Corp., 262 Ga. App. 770, 776, 586 S.E.2d 442 (2003); State v. Sandoval-Tena, 138 Idaho 908, 911, 71 P.3d 1055 (2003); State v. Lackey, 280 Kan. 190, 205, 120 P.3d 332 (2005), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1056, 126 S. Ct. 1653, 164 L. Ed. 2d 399 (2006); Martin *216v. Commonwealth, 170 S.W.3d 374, 382 (Ky. 2005); Menard v. Holland, 919 So. 2d 810, 815 (La. App. 2005); Commonwealth v. Lampron, 441 Mass. 265, 271, 806 N.E.2d 72 (2004); People v. Geno, 261 Mich. App. 624, 631-32, 683 N.W.2d 687, appeal denied, 471 Mich. 921, 688 N.W.2d 829 (2004); State v. Martin, 695 N.W.2d 578, 583 (Minn. 2005); Hobgood v. State, 926 So. 2d 847, 853 (Miss. 2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1118, 127 S. Ct. 928, 166 L. Ed. 2d 714 (2007); State v. Justus, 205 S.W.3d 872, 878 (Mo. 2006); State v. Cameron, 326 Mont. 51, 54, 106 P.3d 1189 (2005); Crowley v. State, 120 Nev. 30, 34, 83 P.3d 282 (2004); State v. Beltran, 153 N.H. 643, 650, 904 A.2d 709 (2006); State v. Torres, 183 N.J. 554, 567, 874 A.2d 1084 (2005); State v. Dedman, 136 N.M. 561, 567, 102 P.3d 628 (2004); People v. Carroll, 95 N.Y.2d 375, 385, 740 N.E.2d 1084, 718 N.Y.S.2d 10 (2000); State v. Brigman, 178 N.C. App. 78, 87, 632 S.E.2d 498, review denied, 360 N.C. 650, 636 S.E.2d 813 (2006); State v. Krull, 693 N.W.2d 631, 635 (N.D. 2005); Beard v. Meridia Huron Hospital, 106 Ohio St. 3d 237, 239-40, 834 N.E.2d 323 (2005); In re J.D.H., 130 P.3d 245, 247 (Okla. 2006); Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 588 Pa 19, 56, 902 A.2d 430 (2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1169, 127 S. Ct. 1126, 166 L. Ed. 2d 897 (2007); Perry v. Alessi, 890 A.2d 463, 470 (R.I. 2006); Floyd v. Floyd, 365 S.C. 56, 81-82, 615 S.E.2d 465 (App. 2005); State v. Herrmann, 679 N.W.2d 503, 507 (S.D. 2004); State v. Saylor, 117 S.W.3d 239, 247-48 (Term. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1208, 124 S. Ct. 1483, 158 L. Ed. 2d 133 (2004); Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589, 595 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003); State v. Voorheis, 176 Vt. 265, 272, 844 A.2d 794 (2004); State v. Dennis, 216 W. Va. 331, 349-50, 607 S.E.2d 437 (2004); State v. Manuel, 281 Wis. 2d 554, 568-69, 697 N.W.2d 811 (2005); Boykin v. State, 105 P.3d 481, 482-83 (Wyo. 2005).

Four jurisdictions, specifically the District of Columbia, Iowa, Maryland and Oregon, review hearsay issues, including the application of hearsay exceptions, as questions of law subject to de novo review. See Zacarias v. United States, 884 A.2d 83, 90 (D.C. 2005) (“[w]hether a particular statement is inadmissible as hearsay or admissible under an exception to the hearsay rule, however, is a question of law that we review de novo” [internal quotation marks omitted]); State v. Newell, 710 N.W.2d 6, 18 (Iowa 2006) (discussing other evidentiary issues subject to discretionary review, but stating that “[w]e review the defendant’s hearsay claims for errors at law”); Bernadyn v. State, 390 Md. 1, 7-8, 887 A.2d 602 (2005) (“We review rulings on the admissibility of evidence ordinarily on an abuse of discretion standard. . . . Review of the admissibility of evidence which is hearsay is different. Hearsay, under our rules, must be excluded as evidence at trial, unless it falls within an exception to the hearsay rule excluding such evidence or is permitted by applicable constitutional provisions or statutes. . . . Thus, a circuit court has no discretion to admit hearsay in the absence of a provision providing for its admissibility. Whether evidence is hearsay is an issue of law reviewed de novo.” [Citations omitted; emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omitted.]); State v. Cook, 340 Or. 530, 537, 135 P.3d 260 (2006) (An appeals court reviewing a trial court’s ruling under the penal *217interest exception “applies a two-part standard of review to a trial court evidentiary ruling that a statement fits within an exception to the hearsay rule. . . . The court will uphold the trial court’s preliminary factual determinations if any evidence in the record supports them. . . . However, the court reviews the trial court’s ultimate legal conclusion, as to whether the hearsay statement is admissible under an exception to the hearsay rule, to determine if the trial court made an error of law.” [Citations omitted.]).

See, e.g., K.V. v. State, 832 So. 2d 264, 265-66 (Fla. App. 2002) (“The abuse of discretion standard applies in cases where the proponent of the evidence is seeking to have it come in under a hearsay exception. . . . However, the question of whether evidence falls within the statutory definition of hearsay is a question of law.” [Citations omitted.]).

Specifically, the defendant argued that “[t]he first way is I would claim that it is an out-of-court statement, not hearsay if it’s offered to illustrate circumstantially the declarant’s then existing state of mind rather than the truth of the matter asserted. The state of mind, my contention being, she was aware of the fact the accusations were fabricated.” The trial court’s ruling, rendered after taking the matter under advisement during a recess, addresses only the hearsay exception, concluding that “state of mind exceptions come in as to present mind for future or past acts. This would be argued as to a past act, if we can inteipret it being a past act. Case law is somewhat discouraging, if I can use that term. They discourage the use of state of mind exception for past act. The court also feels it doesn’t fit appropriately within the state of mind exception. So, on that basis, the court doesn’t agree it’s a state of mind exception.” The defendant did not ask for any further rulings on the ground of whether the statement was itself nonhearsay. Thus, because the trial court did not rule on the nonhearsay argument, the record is in any event inadequate for our review of this evidentiary issue. See, e.g., Grimm v. Grimm, 276 Conn. 377, 388-89, 886 A.2d 391 (2005) (“As is always the case, the [appellant], here the [defendant], bear[s] the burden of providing a reviewing court with an adequate record for review. ... It is, therefore, the responsibility of the appellant to move for an articulation or rectification of the record where the trial court has failed to state the basis of a decision ... to clarify the legal basis of a ruling ... or to ask the trial judge to rule on an overlooked matter. . . . In the absence of any such attempts, we decline to review this issue.” [Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.]), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1148, 126 S. Ct. 2296, 164 L. Ed. 2d 815 (2006).

In his briefing of this claim in the Appellate Court, after discussing the proceedings before the trial court, the defendant limited his analysis as follows: “The judge should have left it for the jury to decide the meaning of the [victim’s] words, which would have cast light on her state of mind regarding the defendant within a day of the alleged sexual assault. The defendant in this case properly relied on Connecticut Code of Evidence § 8-3 (4), which allows for the admission of ‘a statement of the declarant’s then-existing mental or emotional condition . . . .’ The statement was not, as *223the trial court may have thought, ‘a statement of memory or belief to prove the fact remembered or believed’ under the rale.” We note that the defendant did not provide any case citations in this section of his Appellate Court brief to develop the distinction between a statement that is not hearsay, and a hearsay statement subject to an exception.

The commentary to § 8-3 (4) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence provides: “Section 8-3 (4) embodies what is frequently referred to as the ‘state-of-mind’ exception to the hearsay rule. See, e.g., State v. Periere, 186 Conn. 599, 605-606, 442 A.2d 1345 (1982).

“The exception allows the admission of a declarant’s statement describing his or her then-existing mental or emotional condition when the declarant’s mental or emotional condition is a factual issue in the case. E.g., [id.], 606-607 (to show declarant’s fear); Kearney v. Farrell, 28 Conn. 317, 320-21 (1859) (to show declarant’s ‘mental feeling’). Only statements describing then-existing mental or emotional condition, i.e., that existing when the statement is made, are admissible.

“The exception also covers a declarant’s statement of present intention to perform a subsequent act as an inference that the subsequent act actually occurred. E.g., State v. Rinaldi, 220 Conn. 345, 358 n.7, 599 A.2d 1 (1991); State v. Santangelo, 205 Conn. 578, 592, 534 A.2d 1175 (1987); State v. Journey, 115 Conn. 344, 351, 161 A.2d 515 (1932). The inference drawn from the statement of present intention that the act actually occurred is a matter of relevancy rather than a hearsay concern.

“When a statement describes the declarant’s intention to do a future act in concert with another person, e.g., T am going to meet Ralph at the store at ten,’ the case law does not prohibit admissibility. See State v. Santangelo, supra, 205 Conn. 592. But the declaration can be admitted only to prove the declarant’s subsequent conduct, not to show what the other person ultimately did. State v. Perelli, 125 Conn. 321, 325, 5 A.2d 705 (1939). Thus, in the example above, the declarant’s statement could be used to infer that the declarant actually did go to meet Ralph at the store at ten, but not to show that Ralph went to the store at ten to meet the declarant.

“Placement of Section 8-3 (4) in the ‘availability of the declarant immaterial’ category of hearsay exceptions confirms that the admissibility of statements of present intention to show future acts is not conditioned on any requirement that the declarant be unavailable. See State v. Santangelo, supra, 205 Conn. 592 (dictum suggesting that declarant’s unavailability is precondition to admissibility).

“While statements of present intention looking forward to the doing of some future act are admissible under the exception, backward looking statements of memory or belief offered to prove the act or event remembered or believed are inadmissible. See Wade v. Yale University, 129 Conn. 615, 618-19, 30 A.2d 545 (1943). But see State v. Santangelo, supra, 205 Conn. 592-93. As the advisory committee note to the corresponding federal rule *225suggests, ‘[t,]he exclusion of “statements of memory or belief to prove the fact remembered or believed” is necessary to avoid the virtual destruction of the hearsay rule which would otherwise result from allowing state of mind, provable by a hearsay statement, to serve as the basis for an inference of the happening of the event which produced the state of mind.’ Fed. R. Evid. 803 (3) advisory committee note, citing Shepard v. United States, 290 U.S. 96, 54 S. Ct. 22, 78 L. Ed. 196 (1933). For cases dealing with the admissibility of statements of memory or belief in will cases, see Spencer’s Appeal, 77 Conn. 638, 643, 60 A. 289 (1905); Vivian Appeal, 74 Conn. 257, 260-62, 50 A. 797 (1901); Comstock v. Hadlyme Ecclesiastical Society, 8 Conn. 254, 263-64 (1830). Cf. Babcock v. Johnson, 127 Conn. 643, 644, 19 A.2d 416 (1941) (statements admissible only as circumstantial evidence of state of mind and not for truth of matter asserted); In re Johnson’s Will, 40 Conn. 587, 588 (1873) (same).”

The United States Supreme Court first concluded that the statement was inadmissible as a dying declaration because the victim’s condition when it was made did not “[give] fair support to the conclusion that hope had then been lost,” despite her fear that she was going to die, because “[f]ear or even belief that illness will end in death will not avail of itself to make a dying declaration. There must be a settled hopeless expectation . . . that death is near at hand, and what is said must have been spoken in the hush of its impending presence.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Shepard v. United States, supra, 290 U.S. 99-100.

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966).

The defendant claims that State v. Freeney, supra, 228 Conn. 582, and State v. Adams, supra, 52 Conn. App. 643, are distinguishable because the statements in those cases were exculpatory statements by each of those defendants, and therefore, inherently suspect “because the defendant has reason to misrepresent his intent at the time in order to avoid prosecution,” whereas the victim’s statement in this case “reflected adversely on the credibility of her allegations in the case. The [victim] had no reason to misrepresent her mental state at the time the statement was made, and there is no reason to believe that she would misrepresent her mental state in a way that undermined her allegations against the defendant.” We disagree with the defendant because these arguments go to the weight and persuasive value of the victim’s statement in this case as compared to the defendants’ statements in Freeney and Adams, rather than to the admissibility of the victim’s statement under the temporally limited scope of the state of mind exception.

This court also concluded that the statement was inadmissible as an admission, for lack of a showing of agency, or as a spontaneous utterance. See Wade v. Yale University, supra, 129 Conn. 618-19.

Most of the sister state cases that we have found involving application of the state of mind exception to statements by a crime victim arise from statements offered to show that particular victim’s fear of the defendant as a result of previous events. See, e.g., People v. Madson, 638 P.2d 18, 29-30 (Colo. 1981) (statements by victim expressing her fear of defendant inadmissible when self-defense and suicide were not at issue in case); Moseley v. Commonwealth, 960 S.W.2d 460, 461-62 (Ky. 1997) (statements by deceased victim that she previously had been abused by defendant husband, who was accused of killing her, were not subject to state of mind exception because they were offered to prove fact that already had happened); State v. Williams, 395 A.2d 1158, 1163-64 (Me. 1978) (victim’s previous statement to friend that she was afraid because her assailant was chasing her inadmissible “for such fear is tantamount to remembering the prior conduct of [assailant] threatening her with harm”); Commonwealth v. Zagranski, 408 Mass. 278, 282-83, 558 N.E.2d 933 (1990) (murder victim’s statements to his attorney about evolution of transaction of planned sale of his land to defendant were hearsay inadmissible under state of mind exception, unless they pertained to victim’s future intentions); State v. Bell, 950 S.W.2d 482, 483-84 (Mo. 1997) (hearsay statements by murder victim of prior domestic assaults were *230inadmissible because they did “no more than recount past events”); Glover v. State, 102 S.W.3d 754, 762-63 (Tex. App. 2002) (Noting that child sexual assault victim’s statements to her mother went “well beyond [her] then-existing emotional state during the confrontation with her mother. . . . The testimony of [the victim’s mother], relating statements made by her daughter and seeking to establish the truth of facts remembered regarding past events, is inadmissible under the state of mind exception to the hearsay rule.”).

In support of his claim that the victim’s statement in the present case was offered to indicate her “present state of mind at the time she made the statement,” the defendant relies on State v. Flett, 40 Wash. App. 277, 287, 699 P.2d 774 (1985), for the proposition that “[t]he fact that the statement is in tire past tense does not necessarily mean that it indicates a past mental state.” We find the defendant’s reliance on Flett to be misplaced and over-broad. In that case, a sexual assault victim had told her daughter, seven hours after the incident, that she had been raped, and told her son at least two and one-half hours after the incident, “Something upset me . . . did you take the bastard home?” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 286. The court concluded that the trial court properly had admitted her statement to her daughter as an excited utterance, and that the statement that “ ‘ [something upset me’ ” was admissible under the state of mind exception because the circumstances of the case indicated that it referred to the victim’s then-existing mental state; “the fact, by inference, it refers to a past event does not take it out of the scope of the rule, since it is reasonable to believe the condition existed at the time of the utterance . . . .’’Id., 287-88. Flett is distinguishable from the present case because the statement at issue therein unambiguously pertained to an emotion; the victim in Flett specifically complained of being “ ‘upset,’ ” an expression of emotion that was directly relevant to the issue of consent. Moreover, that statement took place during the middle of a continuum of disturbing events; specifically, the statement was made after she had been sexually assaulted, but before she saw the assailant’s wife while at work the next morning. Id., 279.

We note that the defendant relies on a line of older California cases espousing a broader view of the admissibility of statements pursuant to the state of mind exception, specifically, that, “[w]hen intent is a material element of a disputed fact, declarations of a decedent made after as well as before an alleged act that indicate the intent with which he performed the act are admissible in evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule, and it is immaterial that such declarations are self-serving.” (Emphasis added.) Whitlow v. Durst, 20 Cal. 2d 523, 524, 127 P.2d 530 (1942). This approach is inconsistent with the temporal limitations on the admissibility of such statements contained in § 8-3 (4) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence.

We also disagree with the defendant’s reliance on Haynam v. Laclede Electric Cooperative, Inc., 827 S.W.2d 200 (Mo. 1992). In that case, 1he plaintiffs, husband and wife, brought an action against the defendant electric company alleging wrongful termination of electric services. Id., 203-204. *232They had pleaded their action based upon “intentional conduct that was ‘malicious, wanton and willful,’ ” and sought both actual and punitive damages. Id., 204. The plaintiffs and the electric company apparently had agreed to payment arrangements for a disputed bill for March of 1986, which would have given the plaintiffs until the end of May to pay the second part of that bill. Id. The electric company shut off the electricity before then, however, and the plaintiff wife spoke to the general manager of the electric company that same day. She testified that he said there was no log of those arrangements, and that the electric company would not turn the power back on until the bill was paid. When the plaintiff wife inquired and the general manager said that there was no one superior to him, the plaintiff wife then said, “ ‘Then you’re God, and there’s nobody else, you know, above that?’ ” Id. At that point, the manager replied, “ ‘That’s right, lady.’ ” Id. The court concluded that “ [although this conversation occurred some four hours after [the power company] had terminated the electric service, the jury was entitled to consider this evidence in determining [the general manager’s] state of mind when he authorized the termination of the electrical service. State of mind is a continuing condition that may be proved by statements evidencing the state of mind either before or following the relevant point in time.” Id., 204-205.

Even if we were to assume the continuity of states of mind, Haynam is distinguishable from the present case. The electric company’s refusal to restore the power was a continuation of the conduct at issue, namely, the initial disconnection of the plaintiffs’ power, whereas any fabrication in this case would have occurred on the preceding day. Moreover, in our view, the Missouri court mischaracterized the nature of the remarks; rather than hearsay subject to the state of mind exception, we view these comments as nonhearsay because they were not offered for the truth of the matter asserted, specifically, whether the power company manager is God. Rather, that remark more properly would be viewed as circumstantial evidence of the electric company’s malice and wantonness.

Like the majority, I note that the defendant, relying on the Appellate Court opinion in this case, claims that “ ‘[wjhether evidence offered at trial is admissible pursuant to one of the exceptions to the hearsay rule presents a question of law’ ” subject to plenary review. See State v. Saucier, 90 Conn. App. 132, 144, 876 A.2d 572 (2005); State v. Gonzalez, 75 Conn. App. 364, 375, 815 A.2d 1261 (2003), rev’d on other grounds, 272 Conn. 515, 864 A.2d 847 (2005). I agree with the state’s position that the Appellate Court should not have engaged in plenary review of the trial court’s evidentiary ruling, and that the flaw in the Appellate Court’s analysis stems from its reliance on its decision in Gonzalez, a decision that incorrectly cited this court’s decision in State v. Tillman, 220 Conn. 487, 600 A.2d 738 (1991), cert. denied, 505 U.S. 1207, 112 S. Ct. 3000, 120 L. Ed. 2d 876 (1992).

I begin with this court’s decision in State v. Tillman, supra, 220 Conn. 487, which apparently formed the basis for the Appellate Court’s conclusion that the trial court’s hearsay ruling is a question of law subject to plenary *234review. See State v. Saucier, supra, 90 Conn. App. 144; State v. Gonzalez, supra, 75 Conn. App. 375. In my view, the Appellate Court’s reliance in Gonzalez on Tillman was misplaced, as Tillman did not state that evidentiary issues, including the trial court’s application of a hearsay exception, are themselves subject to plenary review. Rather, Tillman noted that the defendant in that case had raised claims that: “(1) the selection of jury panels was unconstitutionally discriminatory; (2) the trial court improperly instructed the jury on identification, consciousness of guilt, and the use of prior inconsistent statements; and (3) the trial court improperly ruled that the field notes of a police social worker were inadmissible as hearsay.” State v. Tillman, supra, 491. With respect to the standard of review, Tillman referred to all of these issues and stated only that “[t]o the extent that these claims are entitled, to a plenary review, we conclude that they do not establish the defendant’s right to a new trial.” (Emphasis added.) Id. Put differently, this court’s decision in Tillman did not conclude specifically that evidentiary claims, and specifically hearsay rulings, are subject to plenary review. Thus, in my view, the Appellate Court’s reliance in Gonzalez on Tillman for this proposition simply was mistaken, rendering that case and its progeny no longer good law on this point.

The majority further states that “only after a trial court has made the legal determination that a particular statement is or is not hearsay, or is *235subject to a hearsay exception, is it vested with the discretion to admit or to bar the evidence based upon relevancy, prejudice, or other legally appropriate grounds related to the rule of evidence under which admission is being sought.” I agree that the trial court first should determine whether the proffered statement is hearsay before considering the applicability of any hearsay exceptions. Unlike the majority, however, I would evaluate both determinations under the abuse of discretion standard of review.

I agree with the majority that we should not apply the abuse of discretion standard of review to all claims with an evidentiary genesis. More specifically, I agree that claims that present questions of law, such as constitutional issues or matters of interpreting the meaning or extent of the rules of evidence, are subject to plenary review. See State v. George J., 280 Conn. 551, 592, 910 A.2d 931 (2006) (“The court’s ruling as to the nonhearsay character of the evidence is reviewed under a deferential abuse of discretion standard. . . . The court’s ruling that the admission of the report entry did not violate the constitutional mandates of Crawford, [v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S. Ct. 1354, 158 L. Ed. 2d 177 (2004)], raises a question of law over which we exercise plenary review.” [Citation omitted.]), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1326, 127 S. Ct. 1919, 167 L. Ed. 2d 573 (2007); New England Savings Bank v. Bedford Realty Corp., 246 Conn. 594, 599 n.7, 717 A.2d 713 (1998) (“whether establishing such a chain of custody is a predicate for admitting documents as business records under [General Statutes] § 52-180” is question of law, and “[bjecause we review the trial court’s interpretation of the statute, and the statute’s applicability to the proffered documents, our review is plenary”); see also State v. Aaron L., 272 Conn. 798, 811, 865 A.2d 1135 (2005) (“[u]nless an evidentiary ruling involves a clear misconception of the law, [t]he trial court has broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility . . . of evidence” [internal quotation marks omitted]).

The majority purportedly eschews the adoption of bright line rules in this context, including the “hybrid” approach whereby the determination of whether a statement is hearsay is a question of law subject to plenary review, but whether the trial court properly applied the relevant hearsay exception is a discretionary ruling. See footnote 12 of this opinion. I disagree, however, with the majority’s characterization of its approach as not categorical, and as dependent on “the nature of the ruling at issue in the context of the issues in the case. ” The majority clearly states that whether a statement may properly be classified as hearsay is a question of law subject to plenary review because it is a “[determination] about which reasonable minds may not differ,” and that “only after a trial court has made the legal determination *236that a particular statement is or is not hearsay, or is subject to a hearsay exception, is it vested with the discretion to admit or to bar the evidence based upon relevancy, prejudice, or other legally appropriate grounds related to the rule of evidence under which admission is being sought.” In my view, the majority has, without saying so, adopted a bright line rule — albeit one I do not agree with — namely, the hybrid approach.

As the majority’s comprehensive research demonstrates, review of trial courts’ evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion similarly is well established in forty of our sister states and ten of the thirteen federal Circuit Courts of Appeals. See United States v. Brown, 441 F.3d 1330, 1359 (11th Cir. 2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1182, 127 S. Ct. 1149, 166 L. Ed. 2d 998 (2007); United States v. Washington, 434 F.3d 7, 14 (1st Cir. 2006); United States v. Brun, 416 F.3d 703, 706 (8th Cir. 2005); United States v. Dazey, 403 F.3d 1147, 1165-66 (10th Cir. 2005); United States v. Slaughter, 386 F.3d 401, 403 (2d Cir. 2004); United States v. Breland, 356 F.3d 787, 792 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 542 U.S. 944, 124 S. Ct. 2924, 159 L. Ed. 2d 825 (2004); United States v. Alexander, 331 F.3d 116, 121-22 (D.C. Cir. 2003); United States v. Solis, 299 F.3d 420, 443 (5th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Mendez v. United States, 537 U.S. 1060, 123 S. Ct. 640, 154 L. Ed. 2d 543 (2002); United States v. Jackson, 124 F.3d 607, 618 (4th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1066, 118 S. Ct. 733, 139 L. Ed. 2d 670 (1998); Holmes v. World Fibers Corp., 107 F.3d 1534, 1542 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Queen v. Belcher, 888 So. 2d 472, 477 (Ala. 2003); Wyatt v. State, 981 P.2d 109, 112 (Alaska 1999); State v. Montano, 204 Ariz. 413, 426, 65 P.3d 61 (2003); Dednam v. State, 360 Ark. 240, 243, 200 S.W.3d 875 (2005); People v. Guerra, 37 Cal. 4th 1067, 1113, 129 P.3d 321, 40 Cal. Rptr. 3d 118 (2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1182, 127 S. Ct. 1149, 166 L. Ed. 2d 998 (2007); In re Water Rights of Central Colorado Water Conservancy District v. Greeley, 147 P.3d 9, 17 n.7 (Colo. 2006); Walton v. State, 821 A.2d 871, 878 (Del. 2003); International Biochemical Industries, Inc. v. Jamestown Management Corp., 262 Ga. App. 770, 776, 586 S.E.2d 442 (2003); State v. Sandoval-Tena, 138 Idaho 908, 911, 71 P.3d 1055 (2003); Stahl v. State, 686 N.E.2d 89, 91 (Ind. 1997); State v. Lackey, 280 Kan. 190, 205, 120 P.3d 332 (2005), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1056, 126 S. Ct. 1653, 164 L. Ed. 2d 399 (2006); Martin v. Commonwealth, 170 S.W.3d 374, 382 (Ky. 2005); Menard v. Hol land, 919 So. 2d 810, 815 (La. App. 2005); Commonwealth v. Lampron, 441 Mass. 265, 271, 806 N.E.2d 72 (2004); People v. Geno, 261 Mich. App. 624, 631-32, 683 N.W.2d 687, appeal denied, 471 Mich. 921, 688 N.W.2d 829 (2004); State v. Martin, 695 N.W.2d 578, 583 (Minn. 2005); Hobgood v. State, 926 So. 2d 847, 853 (Miss. 2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1118, 127 S. Ct. 928, 166 L. Ed. 2d 714 (2007); State v. Justus, 205 S.W.3d 872, 878 (Mo. 2006); State v. Cameron, 326 Mont. 51, 54, 106 P.3d 1189 (2005); Crowley v. State, 120 Nev. 30, 34, 83 P.3d 282 (2004); State v. Beltran, 153 N.H. 643, 650, 904 A.2d 709 (2006); State v. Torres, 183 N.J. 554, 567, 874 A.2d 1084 (2005); State v. Dedman, 136 N.M. 561, 567, 102 P.3d 628 (2004); People v. Carroll, 95 N.Y.2d 375, 385, 740 N.E.2d 1084, 718 N.Y.S.2d 10 (2000); State v. Brigman, 178 *237N.C. App. 78, 87, 632 S.E.2d 498, review denied, 360 N.C. 650, 636 S.E.2d 813 (2006); State v. Krull, 693 N.W.2d 631, 635 (N.D. 2005); Beard v. Meridia Huron Hospital, 106 Ohio St. 3d 237, 239-40, 834 N.E.2d 323 (2005); In re J.D.H., 130 P.3d 245, 247 (Okla. 2006); Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 588 Pa. 19, 56, 902 A.2d 430 (2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1169, 127 S. Ct. 1126, 166 L. Ed. 2d 897 (2007); Perry v. Alessi, 890 A.2d 463, 470 (R.I. 2006); Floyd v. Floyd, 365 S.C. 56, 81-82, 615 S.E.2d 465 (App. 2005); State v. Herrmann, 679 N.W.2d 503, 507 (S.D. 2004); State v. Saylor, 117 S.W.3d 239, 247-48 (Tenn. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1208, 124 S. Ct. 1483, 158 L. Ed. 2d 133 (2004) ; Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589, 595 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003); State v. Voorheis, 176 Vt. 265, 272, 844 A.2d 794 (2004); Twine v. Commonwealth, 48 Va. App. 224, 230, 629 S.E.2d 714 (2006); State v. DeVincentis, 150 Wash. 2d 11, 17, 74 P.3d 119 (2003); State v. Larry M., 215 W. Va. 358, 363, 599 S.E.2d 581 (2004); State v. Manuel, 281 Wis. 2d 554, 568-69, 697 N.W.2d 811 (2005); Boykin v. State, 105 P.3d 481, 482-83 (Wyo. 2005).

I also believe that the existence of clearly delineated standards of review provides necessary guidance to practitioners who, in reviewing a trial record, must determine which claims are likely to succeed on appeal and, therefore, are worthy of valuable real estate in a thirty-five page brief. See, e.g., M. Bosse, “Standards of Review: The Meaning of Words,” 49 Me. L. Rev. 367, 370 (1997) (“[t]o understand and to know what standards of review apply is important to the practitioner . . . for two reasons: first, to know whether an appeal is likely to be successful, and second, to argue that appeal”).

See also, e.g. State v. Skakel, 276 Conn. 633, 728-29, 888 A.2d 985 (application of residual exception to hearsay rule), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1030, 127 S. Ct. 578, 166 L. Ed. 2d 428 (2006); Margolin v. Kleban & Samor, P.C., 275 Conn. 765, 779, 882 A.2d 653 (2005) (admissibility under business records exception).

I recognize that the term “abuse of discretion” has been criticized as formless and standardless with respect to its utility for guiding trial court decision making or meaningful appellate review of those decisions. See State v. James, 261 Conn. 395, 408-409, 802 A.2d 820 (2002), citing M. Rosenberg, “Judicial Discretion of the Trial Court, Viewed from Above,” 22 Syracuse L. Rev. 635, 667 (1971). Judge Richard Markus, a former member of the Ohio Court of Appeals, provides helpful guidance for the review process, as he writes that, “[b]efore according deference to a trial court’s discretion, the appellate court should confirm:

“(1) the governing legal principle authorizes discretion for that type of decision, instead of a consistently applied rule of law;

“(2) the underlying facts on which the trial court relied authorized it to make a choice;

“(3) the court’s choice fell within an acceptable range;

“(4) the court did not consider improper factors in determining its ability to choose or in making its choice;

“(5) the court did not refuse to consider proper factors in determining its ability to choose or in making that choice; and

“(6) the court did not weigh those factors irrationally in determining its ability to choose or to make that choice.” R. Markus, “A Better Standard for Reviewing Discretion,” 2004 Utah L. Rev. 1279, 1293-94. Judge Markus writes that “[i]f the ruling does not satisfy the first segment of this six-part test, the court had no discretion to exercise. If it fails to satisfy any of the remaining segments, the court abuses its discretion.” Id., 1294. Once an abuse of discretion is determined to exist, then the reviewing court may proceed to any applicable harmless error analysis. See id., 1296-97.

Appellate review of evidentiary rulings under the abuse of discretion standard has not been the toothless tiger of “unwarranted deference” that appears to concern the majority. My research indicates that, in the last year alone, this court has on four occasions concluded that a trial court abused its discretion with respect to a purely evidentiary ruling, and reversed judgments based on those conclusions. See generally Prentice v. Dalco Electric, Inc., 280 Conn. 336, 347, 907 A.2d 1204 (2006) (trial court’s admission of scientific expert opinion testimony without Porter hearing to assess validity of underlying methodology), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1266, 127 S. Ct. 1494, 167 L. Ed. 2d 230 (2007); State v. Ritrovato, 280 Conn. 36, 53, 905 A.2d 1079 (2006) (improper exclusion of evidence of victim’s sexual history pursuant to rape shield statute when prosecution had made victim’s virginity part of case); State v. Calabrese, supra, 279 Conn. 410 (exclusion of evidence to impeach hearsay declarant); State v. Sawyer, 279 Conn. 331, 335, 904 A.2d 101 (2006) (admission of uncharged misconduct). In one other case, we concluded that the trial court had abused its discretion, but also that the impropriety was harmless error not requiring reversal. See State v. George J., 280 Conn. 551, 591, 910 A.2d 931 (2006) (hearsay statements contained in investigative records of department of children and families), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1326, 127 S. Ct. 1919, 167 L. Ed. 2d 573 (2007); see also State v. Skakel, 276 Conn. 633, 736-37, 888 A.2d 985, cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1030, 127 S. Ct. 578, 166 L. Ed. 2d 428 (2006) (declining to consider whether admitted newspaper articles were unduly prejudicial because admission would in any event be harmless error).

I also find it interesting that the term “abuse of discretion” has been criticized academically by judicial authors as having “an unnecessarily pejorative flavor, which implies a condescending superiority over trial court judges who make conscientious efforts to provide reliable service.” R. Markus, “A Better Standard for Reviewing Discretion,” 2004 Utah L. Rev. 1279, 1303 (authored by former judge of Ohio Court of Appeals); see also A. Mead, “Abuse of Discretion: Maine’s Application of a Malleable Appellate Standard,” 57 Me. L. Rev. 519, 521 (2005) (former Chief Justice of Maine Superior Court noting that term “suggests that the trial judge has done something that is terribly out of line”). Justice Mead noted that, in response to these concerns, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has “abandoned the language altogether in favor of the term ‘sustainable exercise of discretion.’ ” Id., 521 and n.9, quoting State v. Lambert, 147 N.H. 295, 296, 787 A.2d 175 (2001) (sentencing case).

In my view, a trial court that either admits into evidence a statement that is hearsay not subject to an exception, or fails to consider the definition of hearsay, has abused its discretion by disregarding in some way the rules of evidence that are in place to guide that discretion. Cf. State v. Sierra, 213 Conn. 422, 436, 568 A.2d 448 (1990) (“[T]he balancing process is critical to the determination of whether other crime evidence is admissible. Therefore, notwithstanding our deferential standard of review, the failure of the trial court to balance the probative value of the proffered evidence against its prejudicial tendency constitutes an abuse of discretion.”).

I agree with the majority that the trial court did not rule specifically on the defendant’s argument that the statement was not hearsay, and also that the defendant failed to raise this claim before the Appellate Court in the first instance, thereby rendering the record inadequate for review of this particular claim in this certified appeal. See part IIA of the majority opinion. In any event, I view the trial court’s analysis, which proceeded directly to the applicability of the state of mind exception, as concluding implicitly that the statement was in fact hearsay.

Accordingly, I reject the reasoning of the four state jurisdictions, specifically the District of Columbia, Iowa, Maryland and Oregon, that specifically review hearsay issues, including the application of hearsay exceptions, as questions of law subject to de novo review. See cases cited in footnote 9 of the majority opinion. I also disagree with the four state jurisdictions, specifically Florida, Illinois, Maine and Utah, and the three federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, specifically the Third, Sixth and Ninth, that apply a hybrid standard whereby the determination of whether a statement is hearsay is subject to plenary review, but the application of exceptions to the hearsay rule is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Price, 458 F.3d 202, 205 (3d Cir. 2006) (“Whether a statement is hearsay is a legal question subject to plenary review. ... If the district court correctly classifies a statement as hearsay, its application of the relevant hearsay exceptions is subject to review for abuse of discretion.” [Citation omitted.]), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1147, 127 S. Ct. 1014, 166 L. Ed. 2d 764 (2007); United States v. Washington, 462 F.3d 1124, 1135 (9th Cir. 2006) (“Whether a district court correctly construed the hearsay rule is a question of law we review de novo. . . . We review a district court’s decision to admit evidence as non-hearsay for an abuse of discretion.” [Citation omitted.]); United States v. Gibson, 409 F.3d 325, 337 (6th Cir. 2005) (stating that “[w]ere view evidentiary rulings *242by the district court, including alleged violations of the hearsay rule, under the abuse-of-discretion standard,” and also that “[w]e review de novo a district court’s conclusions of law, such as . . . whether evidence offered at trial constituted hearsay within the meaning of the Federal Rules of Evidence”); K.V. v. State, 832 So. 2d 264, 265-66 (Fla App. 2002) (“The abuse of discretion standard applies in cases where the proponent of the evidence is seeking to have it come in under a hearsay exception. . . . However, the question of whether evidence falls within the statutory definition of hearsay is a question of law.” [Citation omitted.]); People v. Caffey, 205 Ill. 2d 52, 90, 792 N.E.2d 1163 (2001) (using abuse of discretion standard to review claims about applicability of various hearsay exceptions, including state of mind and declaration against penal interest, when trial court’s rulings were based on “the specific circumstances of this case and not on a broadly applicable rule”), cert. denied, 536 U.S. 944, 122 S. Ct. 2629, 153 L. Ed. 3d 810 (2002); In re A.B., 308 Ill. App. 3d 227, 234, 719 N.E.2d 348 (1999) (“[A] trial court’s determination that a particular statement is or is not hearsay [either under the common law or pursuant to statute] is a question of law because it does not involve the exercise of discretion, fact finding, or credibility assessments. . . . Only after a trial court has made the legal determination that a particular statement is or is not hearsay is it vested with the discretion to admit or bar the evidence . . . based upon relevancy, prejudice, or other legally appropriate grounds.” [Citations omitted.]); State v. Cornhuskers Motor Lines, 854 A.2d 189, 192 (Me. 2004) (applying abuse of discretion standard to review application of party opponent exception to allegedly falsified truck logs); State v. White, 804 A.2d 1146, 1150 (Me. 2002) (determining whether identification statement made to state trooper was for truth of matter asserted and stating that “[a] trial court’s decision to admit alleged hearsay is a question of law, which we review de novo” [internal quotation marks omitted]); Wayment v. Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc., 116 P.3d 271, 286 (Utah 2005) (“Whether proffered evidence meets the definition of hearsay in Utah Rule of Evidence 801 is a question of law, reviewed for correctness. . . . Nevertheless, because application of the hearsay rules in a specific case is so highly fact-dependent, a district court’s conclusions on such issues are entitled to some measure of deference.” [Citations omitted.]).