Motion in limine

Motion in limine

Motion in limine (Latin: "at the threshold") is a legal written "request" or motion to a judge which can be used for civil or criminal proceedings and at the State or Federal level. A frequent use is at a pre-trial hearing or during an actual trial requesting that the judge rule that certain testimony regarding evidence or information may be included or excluded from the trial. The motion is always discussed outside the presence of the jury and always decided by a judge. The reasons for the motions are wide and varied, but probably the most frequent use of the motion in limine in a criminal trial is to shield the jury from information concerning the defendant which could possibly be unfairly prejudicial to him if heard at trial.[1] Some others arise under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to comply with discovery.[2][3][4]

A motion in limine is used to get a ruling to allow for the inclusion of evidence, not only to get a ruling as to whether or not evidence will be precluded from trial.

Example

Examples of the type of motions in limine would be that the attorney for the defendant may ask the judge to refuse to admit into evidence any personal information, also any medical, criminal or financial records using the legal grounds that these records are irrelevant, immaterial, unreliable or unduly prejudical and/or that their probative value is outweighed by the prejudicial result to the defendant, or that the admittance of such information or evidence would otherwise violate one of the court's rules of evidence. A party proffering certain evidence can also ask for the admission of certain information or evidence via a motion in limine. This tactic can be especially useful if the admissibility of certain evidence critical to that opposing party's case is in doubt.

If the motion in limine to exclude evidence is granted, then the excluded records would be prohibited from being presented without specific approval from the judge at the time the party wants to offer the evidence.

Governing laws

In the U.S., most motions in limine in federal courts are governed by the Federal Rules of Evidence (in particular, FRE 403). Some others arise under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to comply with discovery.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ FRE 403
  2. ^ http://federalevidence.com/rules-of-evidence
  3. ^ http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/
  4. ^ http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Motion+in+limine
  5. ^ http://federalevidence.com/rules-of-evidence
  6. ^ http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/

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