Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Before a Plaintiff goes up to the witness stand to testify before a jury trial, the clerk of the court tells the Plaintiff to: "Raise their right hand and swear to TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH and nothing but the truth".,,,,, Yet, if there's a Motion In Limine (granted), barring the witness to NOT STATE certain topics, then which rule does the Plaintiff listen to? ,,,Tell the whole truth as the clerk asked him to, or NOT state the whole truth as Motion In Limine bars certain topics.
1 Answer from Attorneys
There should be no conflict here. The topics of the motion in limine should not come up in trial.
If the witness feels that a complete answer to the question posed will require him or her to violate the order on the motion in limine, the only procedure is to ask for a side bar, explain the problem to the judge outside of the jury, and obtain a further ruling.
If the party calling a witness anticipates the problem, he or should she should address it with the judge during a break in the trial.
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