2004) defines "motion in limine" as "a pretrial request that certain inadmissible evidence not be referred to or offered at trial."
They are made "preliminary", and are presented for consideration of the judge, arbitrator or hearing officer, to be decided without the merits being reached first.
[2] Other reasons arise under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to comply with discovery.
[3] Examples of motions in limine would be that the attorney for the defendant may ask the judge to refuse to admit into evidence any personal information, or medical, criminal or financial records, using the legal grounds that these records are irrelevant, immaterial, unreliable, or unduly prejudicial, and/or that their probative value is outweighed by the prejudicial result to the defendant, or that the admittance of such information or evidence would otherwise violate one of the court's rules of evidence.
A reference to such "highly prejudicial" evidence contrary to the tribunal's order is a ground for a mistrial.