OBJECTIONS! 13 Most Commonly Used Mock Trial Objections Metro Tech High School Mock Trial Program

1. Relevance All questioning has to be relevant to the question at issue. Use this objection sparingly or judges start to get annoyed.

2. Leading Leading is only allowed on Cross. Watch out for opposing counsel trying to key witness to what they want them to say. If their witness forgets they have to Refresh Their Recollection.

3. Hearsay Only items that are Not Hearsay or are an Exception are admissible. Make them argue for it. If it is questionable then object and make opposing counsel explain to the judge why it is admissible.

4. Speculation/Lack of Personal Knowledge All witnesses must have first hand knowledge of what they are testifying to. They cannot guess. “I think”, “I guess”, “maybe”, “I believe”, “I suspect” are NOT admissible

5. Non-Responsive The witness did not answer the question that was asked of them. The witness inserted something not asked for. Answer doesn’t fit the question.

6. Foundation When it is not clear what is being discussed or how witness knows it. A step in the discussion seems to be missing. The questioning must go A, B, C, D. You cannot skip any steps A, C, D.

7. Opinion Only expert witnesses are allowed to give their opinion on matters. Lay witnesses cannot express their opinion on testimony or evidence. Experts are not allowed to give their opinion on the ultimate issue, i.e. whether defendant is guilty or not.

8. Facts Not In Evidence The question that is asked has facts in it that were not yet established through other testimony. Or the witness testifies to facts that have not yet been elicited properly. In Mock Trial can also be facts that are not in the case materials.

9. Asked and Answered The attorney asks repeated questions that elicit the same facts more than once. Each fact only needs to be testified to once. Can be asked the same format or attorney may rephrase but question asks for the same answer again.

10. Character Evidence Improper Character Evidence is NOT admissible. See Rule in Handout. Can not be used to show a propensity for that characteristic. Can be used if show to prove Motive, Intent, Plan, Knowledge, etc.

11. Compound Question Each question has to ask for only one fact per answer. If the attorney asks questions that need to be answered with several facts then they need to break it down to smaller bits. Or if the attorney asks more than one question at a time they need to break it down to smaller bits.

12. Vague Question The witness and the jury have to be able to understand what the attorney is asking for and what the witness is answering. If the question is not clear then the attorney needs to rephrase it so that it is more understandable. If the question could be asking for more than one different answer then the attorney needs to rephrase so it is clear what they are asking the witness to answer.

13. Argumentative/Badgering When the attorney is inserting their argument in to the question. It becomes clear that they are not really wanting the witness to answer a proper question but they want to argue their conclusion. Can proceed to Badgering if they are yelling at the witness, physically intimidating the witness, making the witness cry unnecessarily, etc.