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Law vocabulary · Evidence & Proof

Objection

Meaning in law, with examples

/əbˈdʒekʃn/nounCommon term

In law, objection means: A formal protest by a lawyer during a hearing that a question, a piece of evidence or a step in the procedure is not allowed under the rules.

In Turkish: itiraz

How it is used

Typical of US trials: a lawyer stands and says 'Objection, Your Honor', and the judge rules 'Sustained' (the objection is accepted) or 'Overruled' (it is rejected). Lawyers 'raise', 'make' or 'withdraw' an objection. More widely, any formal disagreement, for example to a planning application, is an objection.

Example sentences

  1. Objection, Your Honor: counsel is leading the witness.

  2. The judge overruled the objection and allowed the question.

Common collocations

  • raise an objection
  • objection sustained
  • objection overruled
  • withdraw an objection
  • no objection
  • cross-examinationThe questioning of a witness by the lawyer for the other side, in order to test the witness's account and find weaknesses in it.
  • admissibleAllowed to be used in court as evidence, or accepted for examination by a court, because it meets the legal rules.
  • hearsayA witness's report of what someone else said outside court, offered to prove that what that person said was true.
  • overruleTo reject an objection made during a hearing, or, for a higher court, to declare that a precedent set in an earlier case was wrong and should no longer be followed.
  • Your HonourA polite form of address used when speaking directly to a judge in court, used instead of the judge's name.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Evidence & Proof

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.