COMMON TRIAL OBJECTIONS 1. "Objection, your Honor, the question is ambiguous.

" A question is ambiguous if: It may be misunderstood by the witness. It is objectionable on the ground that it may take on more than one meaning. 2. "Objection, your Honor, the question is argumentative." A question is argumentative if: It is asked for the purpose of persuading the jury or the judge, rather than to elicit information. It calls for an argument in answer to an argument contained in the question. It calls for no new facts, but merely asks the witness to concede to inferences drawn by the examiner from proved or assumed facts. 3. "Objection, your Honor, the question has been asked and answered." A question may be objectionable on the ground that The witness has already answered a substantially similar question asked by the same attorney on the same subject matter. 4. "Objections, your Honor, the question assumes facts not in evidence." A question assumes facts not in evidence if: It presumes unproved facts to be true. Example: "When did you stop beating your wife?" This question assumes that the person has beaten his wife. 5. "Objection, your Honor, the question is compound." A question is objectionable on the ground that it is compound if: It joins two or more questions ordinarily joined with the word "or" or the word "and." 6. "Objection, your Honor, the question is too general." A question is too general, broad, or indefinite, if: It permits the witness to respond with testimony which may be irrelevant or otherwise inadmissible. Each question should limit the witness to a specific answer on a specific subject. 7. "Objection, your Honor, the question is hearsay." A question is hearsay if: It invites the witness to offer an out-of-court statement to prove the truth of some matter in court. There are many exceptions to the hearsay rule. 8. "Objection, your Honor, the question is irrelevant." A question is irrelevant if: It invites or causes the witness to give evidence not related to the facts of the case at hand.

9. "Objection, your Honor, the question is leading." A question is leading if: It is one that suggests to the witness the answer the examining party desires. However, this type of question is allowed on cross-examination of a witness. 10. "Objection, your Honor, the question mis-states the evidence." A question misstates the evidence if: It misstates or misquotes the testimony of a witness or any other evidence produced at a hearing or at a trial. 11."Objection, your Honor, the question calls for a narrative answer." A question calls for a "narrative answer" if: It invites the witness to narrate a series of occurrences, which may produce irrelevant or otherwise inadmissible testimony. Question and Answer interrogation is the standard format. It allows opposing counsel to object to improper questions.

12. "Objection, your Honor, the question calls for speculation." A question is speculative if: It invites or causes the witness to speculate or answer on the basis of conjecture. General Information on Objections They are adversarial. You must plan ahead. You must be prepared to change strategies quickly. You must be quick on your feet. You must know the Code of Evidence. What is the purpose of objecting? Prevents questionable evidence or testimony from entering the record. Interrupts opposing counsels script and flow. Breaks the flow of testimony and wakes up the jury. Why NOT to object? In order to keep a favorable impression with the jury. You dont want to draw the jurys attention to testimony that doesnt help your case. When opposing counsel is eliciting testimony that will actually help your case. Lays a foundation for your case. Introduces character evidence. How to Object 1. Stand up to make your objection. 2. Say: Objection, your Honor. The question calls for hearsay. 3. Sometimes you may want to ask for a sidebar. This means that you will argue the objection outside the hearing of the jury.

Say: Objection, your Honor. I request a sidebar. Then state objection. 4. Address the judge, when making and arguing the objection. 5. Do not look at opposing counsel when making and arguing the objection. 6. After opposing counsel answers your objection, you will ask the judge for permission to respond. - Form: May I respond, your Honor? or Brief Reply, Your Honor. 1. Remain standing until the judge makes his ruling. Types of Objections 1. Form Objections. - This type of objection attacks the way the question is asked by opposing counsel. 2. Substantive Objections - This type of objection attacks the answer that opposing counsel is attempting to elicit from the witness. Substantive Objections Lack of Foundation LCE/FRE 602, 901(a) The prerequisite evidence has not been entered that would allow the current evidence to be presented. Often used when opposing counsel is trying to enter an exhibit into evidence. Two fundamental ways to determine if there is a lack of foundation: 1. Does the witness have personal knowledge of the facts/exhibit in order to testify about it? 2. Is the exhibit authentic? If the answer is NO for either of these questions, there is a lack of foundation. Improper Lay Opinion LCE/FRE 701 Lay witness is a person who has not been qualified as an expert by the court A Lay witness gives an improper lay opinion when: 1. the testimony is NOT rationally related to the personal knowledge they have of the facts OR 2. the testimony is NOT helpful to the jury in deciding the case Relevance LCE/FRE 401 Evidence that does not relate to the case; and is not helpful in determining the ultimate issue. Test to determine relevance: How is this evidence going to help the jury decide this case? Important: when objecting to relevance, you will almost always request a sidebar. More Prejudicial Than Probative LCE/FRE 401, 403 This objection also relates to the relevance of evidence. Balancing Test: Is the evidences probative value greatly outweighed by its unfair prejudice? Here, the evidence is relevant, but you want the evidence excluded anyways due to the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues or misleading of the jury. This objection is a fall-back, since all evidence is unfavorable to one side or another. Common Objections Hearsay LCE/FRE 801 Arguably the hardest objection to recognize!

 Hearsay: a statement, made outside of court, being offered for the truth of the matter. Truth of the matter asserted: is the statement being offered to prove what is said in the statement? Ex: Witness testifies Seth told me he saw John kill Sarah. The truth of the matter asserted is that John killed Sarah. Not only testimony, but also writings/documents can be hearsay Rationale/Dangers of Admitting Hearsay If the person making the out of court statement (declarant) is not available for cross-examination then the testimony presents the following dangers: Ambiguous, Insincere, Incorrectly remembered, Inaccurately perceived What is NOT Considered an Out-of-Court Statement Any statement made by a witness during the trial while testifying before a trier of fact. Opportunity to cross examine. WHEN IS SOMETHING NOT OFFERED FOR THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER ASSERTED? 1 Verbal act operative act that gives rise to legal consequences. 2. Verbal parts of act: words that accompany an ambiguous physical act, is not offered for truth and thus is not hearsay. Effect of reader/hearer: A statement offered to show its effect on the listener or reader will generally not be hearsay. Statement can be offered to sow the reader/listener had o notice o Knowledge o Acted reasonably Declarants state of mind: Statements introduced to show the state of mind of the declarant are not hearsay. Hearsay Exclusions & Exceptions There are many hearsay exceptions know them!! Hearsay Exclusions: these are statements that sound like hearsay, but are not treated as such by the LCE/FRE LCE/FRE: 801(d): 2 Main Exceptions Prior Statements by a witness Admission by a party-opponent Hearsay Exceptions: these statements are hearsay, but may fall under any one of many exceptions LCE/FRE 803: these exceptions apply regardless of whether the declarant is available to be called as a witness LCE/FRE 804: these exceptions apply ONLY IF the declarant is unavailable Present sense impression - Statement describing event or condition made while declarant perceived it or immediately thereafter. Excited Utterance - Statement relating to startling event or condition made while declarant was under stress or excitement Contemporaneous statement of physical, mental or emotional condition

 Statement made for the purpose of medical diagnosis - Medical diagnosis or treatment - describing medical history, past or present symptoms, pain or sensations, or cause if its relevant to treatment. -Business Records - Public Records

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Confrontation Clause Applies in criminal cases The 6th A. of the U.S. Constitution gives an accused the right to confront his/her accuser If opposing counsel is eliciting testimony that the witness heard from someone else, this may implicate the Confrontation Clause Ex: Witness testifies: Seth told me that John killed Sarah. Seth is the person accusing John, the defendant, of killing Sarah. Since Seth is not in court, John has not had the ability to confront, (aka cross-examine) his accuser. Criminal History LCE 609.1 In a criminal case, every witness subjects himself to an examination of his history of criminal convictions. Only Convictions.

Normally only the fact of the conviction, the name of the offense, the date, and the sentence imposed are admissible. Details may be admissible if the witness denies the conviction, the witness opens the door or it is more probative than prejudicial. Important Things to Remember 1. Prepare ahead of time, anticipating objectionable evidence and preparing arguments for objections. 2. Know the evidentiary rules that are going to apply to your trial. 3. Prepare yourself to think on your feet; you will face an unexpected objection.