Rule 3.04 Rulings on Objections to Testimony

When a lawyer wants to object to testimony during a chancery court case, they must speak to the judge (called the chancellor), not to the other lawyer. This keeps arguments from turning into a back-and-forth between the two sides and keeps the judge in control of the courtroom.

The objection also has to be specific. A lawyer can't just say they object without explaining why. If the judge asks, the lawyer offering the testimony has to explain why it should be allowed, and the lawyer objecting has to explain their reason for objecting.

Sometimes the judge won't decide on the objection right away and will wait until later. If that happens, the lawyer who objected needs to keep track of it and bring it up again once the testimony is finished. If they forget to do this, the objection is considered dropped, even if it was a good one to begin with. This means lawyers have to stay organized and follow up, or they lose their chance to challenge the testimony later on.