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Objections
Voir Dire
- Indoctrination
- Misstatement of the law
- Prejudicial
Opening Statement
- Inadmissible or prejudicial
- Misstatement of the law
- Personal Beliefs
Witness Qualifications
- Competency
- Privilege
Direct Examination
- Leading
- Hearsay
- Calls for Speculation
- No proper foundation
Cross-Examination
- Beyond the scope of direct
- Asked and answered
- Assumes facts, not in evidence
Document Presentation
- Identification
- Authentication
- Relevancy
- Best Evidence
Closing Argument
- Improper subject matter
- Unduly prejudicial or inflammatory
- Violation of an in limine order
- Facts not in evidence
Jury Instructions
- Misstating the facts
- Misstatement of the law
- Inconsistent instructions
Transcript
Many years ago, I think it was Robert De Niro, played an aging attorney who served as mentor to a younger superstar attorney.
In that movie, he advised the younger attorney to stand up and object in court, even if he wasn\’t sure what he was objecting to, if there was something going on he didn\’t understand.
And so one day, the Robert De Niro character, the aging attorney, fell asleep in court.
Something woke him up and he jumped up out of his seat and said, \”I object.\”
It was a habit, and he had coached the younger man to do that. You should make that a habit too. Whenever something unfamiliar is happening at a hearing or a trial, just object.
It will slow things down for you at least and give you a chance to think about and understand what\’s happening. Now you may be admonished by the court for asserting the wrong objection. You may be forced, if you are a witness on the stand, to answer a question after you\’ve made an objection, but that\’s preferable to not objecting at all.
Understand that, again, if an objection is not stated either in response to written discovery or trial testimony, then that objection is waived. And so, even if you need to appeal the outcome of your case based on something that was testified to a trial, if there\’s no objection, you don\’t have the ability to appeal the case on that basis. The objection is waived.
Now if your opponent objects to your questions or your exhibits and the judge overrules that objection, you may continue to present the testimony or the exhibit.
But if the court rules that the objection is sustained, you must discontinue that line of questioning or stop presenting your exhibit.