The Legal System's Use of Objections

An objection with the legal system is a particular motion which either attorney in the trial might make in order to disallow the testimony of a witness based on some grounds. Objections are normally raised because the testimony has in some fashion violated one of the rules regarding the entry of evidence into the record. Many times, objections are the result of the other attorney in the trial asking a question in a form which is not permissible for the trial, or they are the result of the witness providing information which is in some way inadmissible, such as opinions or speculation. Objections are raised by the attorney who would like the evidence removed from the record, and the judge for the trial must make a judgment as to whether or not to overrule the objection, or to sustain the objection. If the objection is sustained, then whatever particular element was objected to would be disallowed, meaning that, for example, if a particular question was the subject of the objection, then the question would be disallowed, and the witness would not answer the question. If the objection is overruled, then the item of the objection would be permitted into the trial.

Objections follow relatively strict rules, in terms of what is actually permissible, but the judgment of the judge is still necessary for those situations which are somewhat more complex and less clear cut. Objections must also be made very quickly in response to the item being objected to; for example, a lawyer should object to a question before the witness answers the question.

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