Motions in Limine

• Library: Objections Guidebook (2022 Ed.)

Motions in Limine

· Rulings on pretrial motions in limine are not appealable, because a ruling on a pretrial motion in limine is interlocutory and subject to change at trial. See State v. Dowell, 25 S.W.3d 594, 601 (Mo. App. W.D. 2000). The appealable issue is what occurs at the trial itself, and the judge’s ruling at the trial itself.

· If a pretrial ruling on a motion in limine failed to exclude evidence you sought to exclude, you must object to admission of the evidence at the trial itself in order to preserve the issue for appeal. State v. Minor, 648 S.W.3d 721, 729 (Mo. banc 2022).

· Same for pretrial motions to suppress: You must object to admission of the evidence at the trial itself in order to preserve the issue for appeal. Annin v. Bi-State Dev. Agency, 657 S.W.2d 382, 385 (Mo. App. E.D. 1983).

· If a pretrial ruling on a motion in limine prevents you from presenting...