Rule 403 Excluding Relevant Evidence for Prejudice, Confusion, Waste of Time, or Other

Even if a piece of evidence is relevant to a case, a judge can decide to keep it out of court. This happens when the evidence might cause more harm than good, such as unfairly swaying the jury or confusing people about what the case is really about.

A judge will weigh the value of the evidence against the risks it brings. If showing the evidence would take up too much time, repeat things already proven, or lead the jury to make an emotional decision instead of a fair one, the judge can block it from being used.

This rule gives judges a way to keep trials focused and fair. It is a balancing act, and the potential harm has to clearly outweigh the benefit of the evidence before a judge will throw it out.