Motion(Less)in Limine

Abstract

“When the two come into conflict, democracy takes priority to philosophy.”Richard Rorty“There are some people who use philosophy to lead people astray.”St. AugustineAs any seasoned litigator knows, occasionally one interposes an evidentiary objection not simply for the sake of preventing this or that from occurring in court, but also for the purpose of alerting a court to and educating it about the likelihood that it will have to rule on what may prove to be a substantial evidentiary dispute. Instead of waiting until a trial has begun and somebody else’s expert witness is ready, willing, able and - most of all - present to testify, it can be useful to file a motionin limine, a pre-trial motion that seeks to bar or set limits to an expert’s testimony.