Criminal law unit 3 OBJECTIONS An objection is a formal protest raised in court during a trial to disallow a witnesss testimony or other evidence which would be in violation of the rules of evidence or other procedural law ID: 463912
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Slide1
Objections
Criminal law – unit #3Slide2
OBJECTIONS
An
objection:is a formal protest raised in court during a trial to disallow a witness's testimony or other evidence which would be in violation of the rules of evidence or other procedural law. Slide3
OBJECTIONS
An objection is typically raised:
after the opposing party asks a question of the witness, but before the witness can answer, or
when the opposing party is about to enter something into evidence. Slide4
OBJECTIONS
The judge then makes a ruling on whether the objection is:
“Sustained" - the judge agrees with the objection and
disallows
the question, testimony, or evidence
OR
“
Overruled" - the judge disagrees with the objection and allows the question, testimony, or evidence.Slide5
OBJECTIONS
An attorney may choose to "rephrase" a question that has been objected to, so long as the judge permits it.
Lawyers should make an objection
before there is an answer to the question.Slide6
COMMON LEGAL OBJECTIONS
Leading Question
Opinion
HearsayQuestion?Badgering
Relevance
Asked and AnsweredSlide7
COMMON LEGAL OBJECTIONS
LEADING QUESTION:
A leading question suggests the answer one expects to hear; “You were at the victim’s home 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. Slide8
COMMON LEGAL OBJECTIONS
OPINION:
Only relevant evidence is admissible.
Relevant means the evidence proves or tends to prove a fact that is in dispute. For example, in a case involving a collision of two motor vehicles, the speed that the vehicles were travelling would probably be relevant, but what the drivers ate for breakfast would probably be irrelevantSlide9
COMMON LEGAL OBJECTIONS
HEARSAY:
A statement made by someone other than the witness testifying and offered to prove its own truth.
There are exceptions to the hearsay rule, but it exists because second-hand statements are unreliable and cannot be tested by cross-examination.Slide10
COMMON LEGAL OBJECTIONS
QUESTIONS?:
A question
asks two or more separate questions within the framework of a single question.
Generally reserved for situations if the witness answers “No”, it is confusing as to which part of the question is being answered.
For example: "Did you find the cancelled cheque on the ground and take it with you?"Slide11
COMMON LEGAL OBJECTIONS
BADGERING:
An argumentative question is where counsel states a conclusion and then asks the witness to argue with it often in an attempt to get the witness to change their mind.
Also known as “badgering” the witness.Slide12
COMMON LEGAL OBJECTIONS
RELEVANCE:
Only relevant evidence is admissible.
Relevant means the evidence proves or tends to prove a fact that is in dispute. For example, in a case involving a collision of two motor vehicles, the speed that the vehicles were travelling would probably be relevant, but what the drivers ate for breakfast would probably be irrelevantSlide13
COMMON LEGAL OBJECTIONS
ASKED AND ANSWERED:
Lawyers will often try to emphasize a point by repeating the question that elicited a crucial answer.
Some limited repetition is allowed, but most courts will sustain an objection if the question has been asked two
or
three
times