In California, what is the past physical condition or statement of mind (where at issue in the case) hearsay exception, and does it require the witness to be available?

This rule allows statements that a person made in the past about things like their health, feelings, intentions, or beliefs to be used as evidence in court, even though those statements are technically "hearsay" (second-hand information). The reason this exception exists is that often a person's physical or mental state is an important fact in a legal case, but the person can't make those statements directly in court because they are now deceased, missing, or otherwise unable to testify. So rather than losing this potentially crucial evidence, the law allows these types of second-hand statements to be admitted. However, the rule still requires the person to be truly unavailable - you can't just use the person's old statements without giving them a chance to tell their story directly to the court if possible. This balances the interests of including reliable evidence with protecting parties' rights.