Objection Basics: Part I

Disclaimer: a few basic formulas and suggested response structures are going to be discussed below. There are exceptions to and inappropriate uses for every single one of them. Your coach is always your primary Mock Trial resource.


What is an Objection?
An objection is the means by which the Rules of Evidence are applied. The Rules of Evidence are a lengthy set of standards for what can and cannot be put into evidence in a court of law. Those rules have to be enforced. They’re enforced by making objections in trial: verbal appeals to the judge to enforce a particular rule by forbidding a question or excluding an answer.


Making an Objection: The Essentials
When an objectionable piece of evidence is spotted in trial, via either a question by a lawyer or an answer from a witness, opposing counsel will stand up and state that she’s making an objection and the rule she’s objecting under. The judge may or may not ask her to explain further. Then the judge will often give the other attorney a chance to respond, and he might turn back to the objecting attorney to ask for another response. That can continue for as long as the judge wants it to, and then the judge will rule, either allowing all of the objected-to content into evidence, allowing some of it, or keeping it out entirely. Sometimes judges may also admit or hear the evidence conditionally. The objecting attorney then takes their seat, and the direct or cross examination proceeds.


The Record
When I talk about 'admitting' or 'excluding' evidence, I'm talking about allowing it into or keeping it out of something called 'the record'. 'The record' is a record kept of the happenings of a trial that the jury will have access to, and that they're supposed to make their decisions based on. If a piece of evidence gets excluded, it is, from the perspective of the record, as though that evidence was never mentioned. A literal record isn't kept in Mock Trial, but you're supposed to act as if one is, just as you're supposed to act in virtually every other respect as if the Mock Trial courtroom is a real courtroom. One of the ways you do that is by making objections.


Making an Objection: The Details
Remember that every moment you are addressing the judge you should be standing. To begin an objection, you stand up and address the judge.
Objection arguments will proceed roughly according to a series of steps. The steps are:
1. State that you are objecting.
2. State the rule under which you are objecting.
Steps 1 and 2 are accomplished simultaneously, usually by simply stating “Objection, Your Honor, [rule under which you are objecting]. Most common objections have names (“Hearsay”, “Relevance”, “Improper Character Evidence”), and you should use that name. You might say, for instance, “Objection, Your Honor, Relevance”. If you’re using a more obscure objection and it does not have a name, you’ll need to expand a bit and make it a complete sentence: “Objection, Your Honor, under Rule 703 this evidence is not admissible.” You shouldn’t just say “Objection, Your Honor, Rule 703.” The difference is because the rules that have “nicknames” are common enough that it’s appropriate to talk about them a bit casually- that is, without complete sentences. Talking about obscure rules in the same casual manner is jarring.
You can object to either questions or answers. Sometimes answers are themselves objectionable, and in that case the simple “Objection, Your Honor, [rule]” formula generally applies. But sometimes answers are just starting to become objectionable, and you’re trying to cut it off before anything that should be excluded gets heard. In that case, it is often best to clarify what you’re doing, usually by saying “Your Honor, the witness has begun to testify to [rule name]”, or “Your Honor, the witness’s answer is becoming [rule name]”. If, for instance, you objected after the witness said “Well, she told me” but before any statement was actually entered, you’d say “Objection, Your Honor, the witness has begun to testify to hearsay.” Similarly, questions themselves might be objectionable, and in that case the “Objection, Your Honor, [rule]” formula applies. But sometimes questions are themselves fine, but they prompt an objectionable answer. In that case, you clarify your objection, for instance by saying “Objection, Your Honor, the question calls for [rule name].” If the question was “And what did she tell you?” you might say “Objection, Your Honor, the question calls for Hearsay.”


Part II (and possibly parts after that) will cover procedures and suggestions for the rest of a typical objection battle.