Motion in limine

A pretrial motion asking that certain evidence be found inadmissible, and that it not be referred to or offered at trial.

A motion in limine concerns what evidence can and cannot be presented to a jury in court. Instead of risking a jury being exposed to prejudicial evidence that may later be found to be inadmissible, a motion in limine ensures that such evidence is not presented to the jury in the first place. A motion in limine helps ensure that a defendant receives a fair trial, which is less assured if the jury is simply told to disregard evidence that it has already been exposed to. For example, in a criminal trial, the prosecution may mention a defendant’s previous conviction for an offense that has nothing to do with the offense currently being tried. While the defense may argue that mentioning that previous conviction should not be allowed because it is not relevant to the current case, the jury will nonetheless have already been told that such a conviction exists even if the judge sustains the objection and instructs the jury to disregard the information. A motion in limine ensures that that information is not presented to the jury in the first place. If either party violates the motion in limine then a mistrial may be declared.

There are three types of motions in limine: inclusionary, exclusionary, and preclusionary. As their names suggest, when an inclusionary motion in limine is being made then the party is asking the court that certain evidence be specifically included in the trial. An exclusionary motion in limine, meanwhile, asks that information be excluded and kept from the jury (such as a defendant’s previous conviction, as discussed above). Finally, a preclusionary motion in limine can preclude potentially inadmissible evidence from being included.