How to Make Clear, Quick and Effective Objections
Podcast - A Checklist of Common Objections
In this episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small addresses the art of making effective objections during trial, highlighting the importance of preparation, quick thinking and...more
In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small provides a checklist of the most common objections and their shorthand descriptions. Mr. Small shares why he believes this is...more
This week marks the culmination of Depp v. Heard, the high-profile civil trial in Fairfax County, Virginia. In addition to celebrity intrigue, the trial has provided a useful demonstration of litigation strategy, with themes...more
What do you get when you mix a severed finger, a persnickety trial judge, and a global denial of objections to jury charges? Yet another reminder to make timely and specific objections to jury instructions, even when doing so...more
On September 2, 2020, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Continental Vineyard, LLC v. Vinifera Wine Co., LLC, and adopted a new contemporaneous objection rule for the circuit in doing so. In this...more
You find yourself in an arbitration needing documents and testimony from a nonparty. Your arbitrator issues a nonparty summons, “conveniently” requiring the out-of-state nonparty to appear by video at a hearing and produce...more
I have had a long-running interest in Don Keenan and David Ball’s perspective on plaintiffs’ trial and discovery advocacy called “The Reptile,” the notion that one can motivate jurors to side with a plaintiff by tapping into...more
It’s a cardinal rule that to preserve an argument at trial, counsel must make a contemporaneous objection. Even cardinal rules, however, have their exceptions....more
A deposition is one of the most useful discovery tools for trial attorneys. It is the only opportunity, prior to trial itself, where an attorney can question a witness about nearly everything he or she knows regarding the...more
Witness preparation is an accepted practice in the United States. Attorneys are not only expected to prepare witnesses for trials and depositions, but it is their professional responsibility as advocates for their clients to...more
Most attorneys know that failing to contemporaneously object to an adverse ruling can subject the issue to a more stringent standard of review on appeal. For example, failing to object below to a ruling of law means that,...more
In Byrd v. Stubbs, 190 So. 3d 26 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016), the Mississippi Court of Appeals reminded us of the need to be diligent during a charge conference by raising specific objections to a proposed jury instruction, as...more
On November 21, 2016, the First Circuit offered practitioners yet another reminder that, as the charges and verdict form evolve through colloquys with the trial judge, there is a continuing obligation to object; the timing of...more
This chart provides a quick reference regarding motions and objections that may be made immediately prior to, during, and immediately after trial to preserve issues for appellate review. ...more
While trial attorneys know they must preserve issues they wish to raise on appeal, they often overlook the basic steps required to help ensure appellate review. During more than 27 years on the bench, former Florida appellate...more
Editor’s Note: Ok, we know, this is waaaay to long for a blog post. But this is just too good not to share! In our continuing effort to avoid re-inventing the wheel, getting the easy stuff down to checklists, and helping...more
Imagine a trial judge is trying to move things along at a charge conference. An issue arises, trial counsel begins to voice objections, and the judge short-circuits the discussion by saying, “Your rights are saved on the...more
The trouble began with an off-the-record charge conference. Both sides proposed standard breach of contract jury instructions, but the defendant added additional language. The trial court gave the defendant’s version. The...more