Motion in Limine

A motion in limine (from the Latin in limine, meaning "at the threshold") is a procedural device used in common-law jurisdictions to obtain an advance ruling from the trial judge on whether certain evidence, testimony, or argument may be presented at trial. The motion is typically filed and argued outside the presence of the jury, often during a pretrial conference or on the morning of trial.

The purpose is to prevent the jury from hearing potentially prejudicial, irrelevant, or otherwise inadmissible material that, once heard, cannot be effectively "unheard" even with a curative instruction. Common subjects include:

• Prior bad acts or criminal history of a party or witness
• Settlement negotiations or offers of compromise
• Expert testimony challenged under reliability standards (in U.S. federal court, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993))
• Hearsay statements
• Inflammatory photographs or demonstrative exhibits
• References to insurance coverage

A motion in limine may seek to exclude evidence (a defensive use) or to admit evidence in advance so counsel can rely on it in opening statements (an offensive use). Rulings are often provisional: a judge may grant the motion subject to revisiting the issue if trial developments change the evidentiary landscape.

In U.S. federal practice, the motion is not codified by a specific Federal Rule of Civil Procedure but is grounded in the court's inherent authority to manage trials, exercised in conjunction with the Federal Rules of Evidence (particularly Rules 401–403 on relevance and prejudice). The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the practice in Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38 (1984), which also held that a defendant must testify to preserve appellate review of a denied motion in limine concerning impeachment by prior conviction.

The mechanism exists in similar forms in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other common-law systems, though it is largely absent from civil-law jurisdictions where judges, not juries, weigh evidence.