In U.S. law, a motion ''in limine'' (, "at the start"; literally, "on the threshold") is a

motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...

, discussed outside the presence of the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

, to request that certain testimony be excluded. A motion ''in limine'' can also be used to get a ruling to allow for the inclusion of evidence. The motion is decided by a judge in both civil and

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

proceedings. It is frequently used at pre-trial hearings or during

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

, and it can be used at both the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and federal levels. ''

Black's Law Dictionary ''Black's Law Dictionary'' is the most frequently used legal dictionary in the United States. Henry Campbell Black (1860–1927) was the author of the first two editions of the dictionary. History The first edition was published in 1891 by Wes ...

'' (8th ed. 2004) defines "motion ''in limine'' as "a pretrial request that certain inadmissible

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

not be referred to or offered at trial." They are made "preliminary", and are presented for consideration of the judge, arbitrator or hearing officer, to be decided without the merits being reached first. The reasons for the motions are wide and varied, but probably the most frequent use of the motion ''in limine'' in a criminal trial is to shield the jury from information concerning the defendant that could possibly be unfairly prejudicial to the defendant if heard at trial. Other reasons arise under the

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (officially abbreviated Fed. R. Civ. P.; colloquially FRCP) govern civil procedure in United States district courts. They are the companion to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rules promulgated by the ...

for failure to comply with

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

. Other proper subjects for motions ''in limine'' stem from the court's power to "Provide for the orderly conduct of proceedings before it" and to " ntrol its process and orders so as to make them conform to law and justice". These procedural motions ''in limine'' may include motions to control the conduct of the

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

, motions for separate trials on counts, prior convictions, and/or enhancements, motions to control the

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

environment, motions to control

conduct, and other such motions. A motion ''in limine'' is distinct from a motion for a protective order, which is a request to prevent the

of evidence, and a motion to suppress, which can be raised by the defense in American criminal trials to prevent the admission of evidence that was obtained unconstitutionally.

Governing laws

Most motions ''in limine'' in federal courts are governed by the

Federal Rules of Evidence First adopted in 1975, the Federal Rules of Evidence codify the evidence law that applies in United States federal courts. In addition, many states in the United States have either adopted the Federal Rules of Evidence, with or without local v ...

. Some others arise under the

for failure to comply with

Example

Examples of motions ''in limine'' would be that the attorney for the

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one juris ...

may ask the judge to refuse to admit into evidence any personal information, or medical, criminal or financial records, using the legal grounds that these records are irrelevant, immaterial, unreliable, or unduly prejudicial, and/or that their probative value is outweighed by the prejudicial result to the defendant, or that the admittance of such information or evidence would otherwise violate one of the court's rules of evidence. A party proffering certain evidence can also ask for the admission of certain information or evidence via a motion ''in limine''. If the motion ''in limine'' to exclude evidence is granted, then the excluded records are prohibited from being presented without specific approval from the judge at the time the party wants to offer the evidence. A reference to such "highly prejudicial" evidence contrary to the tribunal's order is a ground for a

mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

References

{{Authority control Latin legal terminology In limine In limine sk:Zoznam latinských výrazov#A

Governing laws

Example

See also

References