Offer and Objection Flashcards
Section 34. Offer of evidence
The court shall consider no evidence which has not been formally offered. The purpose for which the evidence is offered must be specified.
Section 35. When to make offer.
All evidence must be offered orally.
The offer of the testimony of a witness in evidence must be made at the time the witness is called to testify.
The offer of documentary and object evidence shall be made after the presentation of a party’s testimonial evidence.
Section 36. Objection
Objection to offer of evidence must be made orally immediately after the offer is made.
Objection to the testimony of a witness for lack of a formal offer must be made as soon as the witness begins to testify.
Objection to a question propounded in the course of the oral examination of a witness must be made as soon as the grounds therefor become reasonably apparent.
The grounds for the objections must be specified.
Section 37. When repetition of objection unnecessary.
When it becomes reasonably apparent in the course of the examination of a witness that the questions being propounded are of the same class as those to which objection has been made, whether such objection was sustained or overruled, it shall not be necessary to repeat the objection, it being sufficient for the adverse party to record his or her continuing objection to such class of questions.
Section 38. Ruling.
The ruling of the court must be given immediately after the objection is made, unless the court desires to take a reasonable time to inform itself on the question presented; but the ruling shall always be made during the trial and at such time as will give the party against whom it is made an opportunity to meet the situation presented by the ruling.
The reason for sustaining or overruling an objection need not be stated. However, if the objection is based on two [(2)] or more grounds, a ruling sustaining the objection on one [(1)] or some of them must specify the ground or grounds relied upon.
Section 39. Striking out [Q/] answer
Should a witness answer the question before the adverse party had the opportunity to voice fully its objection to the same, or where a question is not objectionable, but the answer is not responsive, or where a witness testifies without a question being posed or testifies beyond limits set by the court or when the witness does a narration instead of answering the question, and such objection is found to be meritorious, the court shall sustain the objection and order such answer, testimony or narration to be stricken off the record.
On proper motion, the court may also order the striking out of answers which are incompetent, irrelevant, or otherwise improper.
Section 40. Tender of excluded evidence.
If documents or things offered in evidence are excluded by the court, the offeror may have the same attached to or made part of the record. If the evidence excluded is oral, the offeror may state for the record the name and other personal circumstances of the witness and the substance of the proposed testimony.
