Since the mid-1800s, Georgia law has required attorneys to object on the record to an alleged error at trial at the earliest possible opportunity in order to preserve the alleged error for consideration by the appellate courts.??Known as the contemporaneous objection rule, its rationale is that the trial court should have an opportunity to correct the alleged error at the time it is made because correcting an error at that time reduces the possibility of a new trial being required following a post-trial motion or an appeal.
Over time, the Georgia Supreme Court held that a contemporaneous objection is not required when the alleged error was the subject of a motion in limine.??For example, the Court modified the contemporaneous objection rule in 1979 so that the denial of a motion in limine relieved the moving party of its obligation to object when the disputed evidence was introduced at trial because the motion and the trial court's ruling were deemed sufficient to preserve the alleged error for appeal and because requiring the moving party to renew its objection would highlight the objectionable evidence to the jury.
Similarly, the Georgia Supreme Court held in 1982 that the moving party was not required to object when excluded evidence was erroneously introduced or made at trial in violation of an order granting a motion in limine because objecting would defeat the purpose...
