Opinion ID: 1834380
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Deferred Ruling on Nash's Motion in Limine

Text: Prior to trial, Nash filed a motion in limine to preclude the defendants from eliciting testimony concerning information contained in her medical records about a drug screening test and the results thereof. The trial court, after hearing argument by counsel, admonished the defendants to refrain from discussing the drug screening test until a voir dire hearing by the court could be held to determine its admissibility. The trial court deferred ruling on Nash's motion in limine until evidence was presented by the parties. Nash argues that it was an abuse of discretion for the trial court to defer its ruling on her motion in limine and, specifically, argues that the trial court's deferring its ruling prejudiced her because, as a result of it, she was forced to disclose the drug screening test evidence during jury selection and direct examination. We disagree with Nash's argument. It is well recognized that only adverse rulings by the trial court are reviewable on appeal. See Lewis v. Providence Hospital, 483 So.2d 398 (Ala.1986). Because the trial court deferred its ruling, there is no adverse ruling for review. Although Nash cites C. Gamble, The Motion in Limine: A Pretrial Procedure That Has Come of Age, 33 Ala.L.Rev. 1, 15 (1981), as supporting her position, we find that a close review of the article supports the trial court's exercise of discretion: Most courts addressing the issue have concluded that a trial judge does not commit reversible error when he denies or overrules a motion in limine. Indeed, a trial judge's decision to take the motion under advisement until the matter arises at trial or simply to refuse to entertain the motion at all is generally deemed not to constitute reversible error. Considerable discretion is vested in the trial court regarding these matters. Consequently, in order to show reversible error, the unsuccessful moving party has the nearly insurmountable task of proving that the trial judge abused his discretion. Filing a motion in limine has its advantages as discussed earlier in this article, but the motion is unlikely to be valuable as grounds for reversal on appeal. We find no abuse of discretion and therefore no reversible error in the trial court's deferring its ruling on Nash's motion in limine until the matter arose at trial.