In U.S. law, a motion in limine is a written motion to a judge that can be used for civil or criminal proceedings, and at the state or federal level. A frequent use is at a pre-trial hearing or during an actual trial, requesting that the judge rule that certain testimony regarding evidence or information may be included or excluded. The motion is always discussed outside the presence of the jury and is always decided by a judge. 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 him if heard at trial. Some others arise under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to comply with discovery. Black’s Law Dictionary defines Motion in Limine as a pretrial request that certain inadmissible evidence not be referred to or offered at trial. A motion in limine is used to get a ruling to allow for the inclusion of evidence, not only to get a ruling as to whether or not evidence will be precluded from trial. They are made “preliminary”, and it is presented for consideration of the judge to be decided without the merits being reached first.

Our Approach: These motions are used by both the defense and prosecution. The defense often uses them pre-trial to exclude 404(b) evidence referred to as “bad character” evidence. The government uses them as a way to prevent the defense from introducing prejudicial and impeaching evidence against cooperating witnesses under Federal Rules of Evidence 608(b). The importance and impact of these motions cannot be minimized because the court’s rulings often shape the direction of the proceedings for both the defense and the prosecution.

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