“What does sustaining the objection mean?” Throughout criminal proceedings and trials, attorneys usually speak up and offer various objections. What exactly do these protests signify? Why raise these objections?
For people who are not familiar with the law, the terminology and procedures used in criminal courtrooms might be bewildering. This blog post will clarify this in more detail.
What does sustaining the objection mean? Sustain – What Is It?
To sustain means to approve or agree upon. The term “objection sustained” refers to a Judge’s acknowledgment of an attorney’s objection.
What does sustaining the objection mean? Sustain’s Origins and Meaning:
In Middle English, “sustain” originally meant “to hold up, support, or bear the weight of something.” When used legally, the term refers to a Judge’s decision to accept or concur with a certain objection or argument.
What does sustaining the objection mean: Illustrations of sustain
In a courtroom, if a defense attorney objects to a question the other side opposes, the Judge may uphold the objection, indicating that they concur that the question is inappropriate or unanswerable. A Judge may also overrule an objection; indicating that the question is appropriate and answerable.
What does sustaining the objection mean: What Does the Legal Term “Objection” Mean?
A formal objection made during a trial, deposition, or other procedure. It requests the court to exclude a witness’ testimony or other evidence because it would go against the rules of evidence or another procedural legislation. These are generally brought up during a trial after the other side questions a witness but before the witness has a chance to respond or when the other side wants to introduce an exhibit as evidence.
The judge then renders a decision when a lawyer raises an objection. If the judge rejects the objection and accepts the inquiry, witness, or piece of evidence, the judge has overruled the objection. In order to correct any inappropriate language, the judge may also allow the lawyer to rephrase the inquiry.
A judge’s actions may also be the subject of objections.
Reasons why lawyers would object
There are a number of causes for a criminal defense lawyer to object in court, including:
- Relevance: A question or response that has no bearing on the situation, such as “Is Ms. Jones a good, upstanding member of the community?” when a person accused of hitting Ms. Jones in a bar is on trial.
- Hearsay: When a query or response relies on a third-party account of an occurrence, such as “So and so told me…”
- Opinion: When a witness responds to a question that depends on their opinion, such as “Do you believe that people who belong to that political party are more likely to commit crimes?”
- Speculation: When a query or response is based on an eyewitness’s conjecture, as in “I didn’t see him that day, but he was probably at the movies with his friends.”
- Asked and answered: This occurs when a lawyer repeatedly asks the same questions and receives the same responses, such as “You weren’t anywhere near the dock that morning? At 10:00 a.m., you didn’t visit the dock? On the dock that morning, were you? Had you been at the dock between nine and eleven?
- Leading questions: Questions that imply a response, like “The intruder entered through the entrance from the well-lit porch? The light in the doorway was on. You have adequate lighting to view his face, right?
The judge presiding over a case can overrule or uphold a Lawyer’s objection.
When a Judge overrules an objection, trial continues. The Lawyer may present his evidence or testimony to the court. If the judge upholds the objection, the lawyer may rephrase the inquiry or justify the significance of the evidence or testimony.
What does sustaining the objection mean: How does a judge decide on arguments?
Depending on her decision, a judge may either “overrule” the objection or “sustain” it. However challenging it may be, the jury should ignore the incorrect questions posed.
An overruled objection is still significant to proceedings. When a lawyer challenges some evidence, that challenge becomes part of the record. The attorney has the right to appeal the judge’s judgment if he doesn’t agree with it. A lawyer loses his right to appeal against improperly admitted evidence if he does not object to its admissibility.
What does sustaining the objection mean: What are the laws governing evidence?
The rules of evidence specify what can and cannot be taken into account by a Jury. The following are some principles of evidence:
.1# Only firsthand facts may be presented by witnesses. Permitting witnesses to say just anything would make Testimony meaningless. This is a little difficult to apply, though. A witness may state, “I saw the blue car drive through a red light before hitting the pedestrian,” but she/he may not say, “The driver of the blue car should go to jail because he/she ran a red light and hurt someone,” as this would represent the witness’s viewpoint.
.2# Every witness must be open to being questioned from both sides. During cross-examination, one lawyer attempts to elicit lies or other issues with a witness’ testimony. Every piece of testimony is thoroughly vetted by cross-examination before being given to a jury. It derives from the 6th Amendment right to confront your accuser. “Hearsay testimony,” or testimony concerning what someone else told the witness, is typically not permitted because the other person cannot be cross-examined. There are, however, several exclusions to this rule.
.3# Documents must be genuine. There are numerous evidence regulations in place to ensure that the item in evidence is the actual evidence, or at the very least an exact copy when the parties attempt to introduce documents or other items into evidence.
Related article:
MISDEMEANOR PROBATION: Rules and Guidelines
What Happens If One Skips Jury Duty?
