Standard Objections

7/28/2019 Standard Objections

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Standard Objections

An attorney can object any time she or he thinks the opposing attorney is violating therules of evidence. The attorney may object to questions that the other sides attorneyis asking, to answers that a witness is giving, or to exhibits that the other side isattempting to admit into evidence. Generally attorneys are not allowed to object to

opening statements or closing arguments.

The attorney wishing to object should stand up and do so at the time of the violation.Only one attorney should stand and object at a time. The attorney assigned to do thedirect or cross-examination of a particular witness should be the only attorney able toraise objections when the opposing side conducts its examination of that witness.Once an objection has been made, the witness should stop talking until the objectionhas been resolved.

When an objection is made, the judge will ask the reason for the objection. Theobjecting attorney should state what specific rule of evidence is being violated.

Then the judge will turn to the other attorney who asked the question or offered theexhibit, and that attorney usually will have a chance to explain why the objectionshould not be accepted (that is, should be overruled) by the judge.

The judge will then decide whether the question, answer, or exhibit must be discardedbecause it has violated a rule of evidence (Objection sustained) or whether to allowthe question, answer, or exhibit to become part of the trial record (Objectionoverruled).

If the objection has been overruled, the attorney asking the question should persevereand ask the question again to ensure that the witness gets to answer the question orthe exhibit gets admitted into evidence. Many times once the objection is overruled,the attorney doesnt follow up and pursue the issue. When judges rule against

attorneys, attorneys should take the ruling gracefully, not making facial expressions orgestures that show the ruling affected them. Similarly, attorneys pleased with a rulingshould not thank the judge for it.

When objections are sustained, attorneys should move on to another question and endtheir questioning on a strong note. If the judge has overruled an objection by anattorney, that attorney should not be afraid to object to another question.

OBJECTIONS

Ambiguous, Confusing, Misleading, Vague,

Objection Your Honor, the question is (confusing) (ambiguous) (vague) (misleading)

Any of these is the proper objection to a question not posed in a clear and precisemanner so that the witness knows with certainty what information is being sought.

Argumentative

Objection, the question is argumentative


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Calls for Speculation

Objection, Your Honor, calls for speculation

Anything that invites a witness to guess is objectionable. Speculation as to what

possibly could have happened is of little probative value. Some leeway is allowed forthe witness to use their own words, and greater freedom is allowed with expertwitnesses.

Attorneys cannot ask questions that get witnesses to guess at answers. An opposingwitness cannot create new facts that would change the outcome of the case, althoughwitnesses can add minor details. If the attorney believes a witness has gone beyondthe information provided and is providing new information that is totally out ofcharacter and will change the outcome of the trial, use the following objection:Objection. The witness is creating material fact that is not in the record.

Compound Question

Objection, Your Honor, compound question

A compound question asks two or more separate questions within the framework of asingle question. Generally reserved for situations if the witness answers "No", it isconfusing as to which part of the question is being answered.

Hearsay

Objection, the question calls for hearsay

Hearsay is a statement made by someone other than the witness testifying and offeredto prove its own truth. Statements that are made outside of the courtroom are usually

not allowed as evidence if they are offered in court to show that the statements aretrue. The most common hearsay problem arises when a witness is asked to tell whatanother person said to him or her.

There are exceptions to the hearsay rule, but it exists because second-handstatements are unreliable and cannot be tested by cross-examination. There are manyexceptions to the hearsay rule. Two of the most common area. That a witness may repeat a statement made by either party in the case if thestatement contains evidence that goes against his or her side; ORb. If a persons state of mind at the time of a certain event is important, anystatements made about that event at the time the event occurred concerning thespeakers intent, knowledge, or belief will be admissible.

Lack of Personal Knowledge

Objection. The witness has no personal knowledge that would enable him or her toanswer this question.

The witness is testifying to things that the witness has not directly seen, heard, orexperienced.


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Leading

Objection, the question is leading.

A leading question suggests the answer one expects to hear; "You were at the victim'shome that night, weren't you? The lawyer should not be doing the testifying. Leading

questions are permitted under certain circumstances, usually in cross-examination,with expert witnesses, with young, old, or poor recall witnesses, and with any hostile,evasive, or adverse witness.

Narrative

Objection, counsel's question calls for a narrative

This is used when there is danger of a witness running away with their story, or to startpouring out their testimony. There are times when a narrative is appropriate, andbetter than question and answer, but in this case, the objection is to preventinadmissible evidence from pouring out before counsel has a chance to object.

Opinion of an Unqualified Witness

Objection, counsel's question calls for an improper opinion. Or, Objection, the witnesshasn't been sufficiently qualified as an expert.

Or, Objection, insufficient foundation.

Unless it is within the common experience of people to form an opinion on the subject,opinions will not be allowed. Expert witnesses may give opinions, if they explain thebasis for the opinion, which is called laying a foundation. An expert witness issomeone who by training or experience has special knowledge in the case.

Opinion testimony is proper only in the area of expertise or specialized knowledge thatan expert witness is qualified in. Lay witnesses may give opinions only when theirperception is helpful to the jury; e.g., time, distance, speed, sobriety.

Relevance

Objection, the question calls for an irrelevant answer.

Something is irrelevant if it does not serve, by any natural pattern of inference, toestablish an issue of fact. The court is bound by efficiency and must preventdistractions on extraneous issues that do not have a relationship to the trial.

Beyond the usual method of pointing out contradictory evidence, there are generally 5WAYS TO IMPEACH a witness:(1) bias or prejudice, if paid, stands to gain, a friend or rival;(2) Poor character, for honesty or veracity;


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(3) Conviction, if less than 10 years ago;(4) Poor memory, if lack ability to observe, remember, or recount; and(5) Prior inconsistent statement, but only if an important fact, such as saying theyworked that day, then later saying they had the day off. With expert witnesses, beyondthe usual method of attacking credentials, unsubstantiated attempts to overturn thepresumption of regularity that imply substitution, contamination, or tampering are

improper.

Documents

Standard Objections