A motion in limine asks the judge to rule on evidence before anyone mentions it in front of the jury.
What the Motion Does
In Williams v. Harvey, 311 Ga. 439 (2021), the Georgia Supreme Court described it this way: “A motion in limine is a pretrial motion that may be used in two ways: (1) to obtain a final ruling on the admissibility of evidence prior to trial or (2) to prevent the mention of certain evidence or an area of inquiry until its admissibility can be determined during the course of trial outside the presence of the jury.”
The judge does not have to decide early. “The trial court has an absolute right to refuse to decide the admissibility of evidence … prior to trial.”
An Example from a Divorce
In Frost v. Frost, 299 Ga. 278 (2016), a husband moved in limine to keep out a recording his wife wanted to use. The motion was raised at a pretrial hearing but not ruled on, and that hearing was never transcribed. The judge excluded the recording once trial started, and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed, explaining that “the party asserting error has the burden of establishing error from the record,” which the wife could not do.
Winning the Motion Is Not the End
Under OCGA 24-1-103(a)(2), quoted in Williams, “[o]nce the court makes a definitive ruling on the record admitting or excluding any evidence, either at or before trial, a party need not renew an objection or offer of proof to preserve such claim of error for appeal.” But if the other side crosses the line anyway, you have to say so then and there: Williams held that “a contemporaneous objection must be made at the time an alleged violation of a ruled-upon motion in limine occurs at trial.”
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!