1. Pre-mark the exhibit.
2. Ask the court if you can approach the witness.
3. Hand document to counsel and witness.
4. Have the witness identify the document. (TRE 602)
5. Establish how the document is relevant.
6. Establish authenticity by asking the witness if its authentic (TRE 901).
7. Establish any applicable hearsay exceptions, if necessary (TRE 803 & 804).
8. Satisfy the “best evidence rule”.
9. Offer the document as evidence by asking the court to admit it.
10. Hand the document to the court reporter.
11. Continuing with questioning the witness is desired.

1. Challenge the array – disqualify the panel for impartiality resulting from a violated rule designed to produce a fair cross-section of the community. This may apply if your jury panel is not reflective of the community and has an unusually large or predominant amount of one group; such as, a jury panel of all women, or all men.
2. Request for reshuffle – Reshuffles panel.
3. Improper Question – isolating one specific fact of the case and asking if panelist could be fair regardless of the other evidence based solely on that specific fact.

1. Lack of knowledge – If a party believes a witness is not qualified to testify on a subject because of lack of knowledge the party must object. At which time the party may take the witness on void dire before the witness testifies. The party should then restate their objection after the void dire.

1.  Faulty Expert Opinion – To object to expert opinion the party should object that the expert is not qualified, the opinion is not relevant or reliable, or the probative value does not outweigh the danger of prejudice.

1. Witness violated the Rule – If a witness violates “the Rule” the trial court must determine whether it will permit the witness to testify.

1. Undisclosed Evidence – If a party attempts to introduce evidence that was not disclosed despite it being requested by pretrial order or discovery request, the other party should object.

Most of these objections or objectable matters are cured with a Motion to Strike and a Jury Instruction to disregard the statement.

A party should object every time inadmissible evidence is offered.

1. 1. Running Objections – can be used to object to further usages of the same objectionable evidence without annoying the jury with constant objections.

1. Hearsay – A party should object whenever any hearsay is introduced.
2. Doctrine of Optional Completeness – A party may object when the other party attempts to introduce only part of a document or written statement. The objecting party must show that:
   1. The other party introduced only part of a document or written statement.
   2. The remainder of the document or written statement should be admitted so that in fairness it can be considered with the original produced.

Ways to Accidentally Waive Appeal – If you fail to preserve appeal you will not be able to appeal the failure to grant your request from the court. Here are a few things to be cautious of in order to preserve appeal.

a.     Failure to continually object or give a running objection – each instance of a failure on the courts part to include or exclude evidence is its own separate appealable issue. In order to preserve appeal, you must object to each instance, or lodge a running objection.

b.     Failure to specify the grounds for the object – A challenge on appeal must comport with the objection made at trial. If the trial objection is general, rather than specific, error is not preserved as to a specific claim raised on appeal.

c.     Failure to obtain a ruling on the objection – Often times a judge may not give a formal response to an objection but may give a speaking response that avoids the answer, such as “move along” or “rephrase your question”. However, if the judge does not specifically stated that they are sustaining or overruling the objection, and you do not pursue a ruling, the objection is deemed waived.

d.     Failing to submit a jury instruction – Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 36.14 requires that a proposed jury instruction be submitted in writing or dictated into the record to preserve a challenge on appeal that the instruction was not included in the court’s charge. Likewise, in the civil context, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 278 imposes the same requirement.

e.     Failing to request an extra preemptory challenge – Specifically, in order to preserve error for review, a lawyer must show that: (1) he or she asserted a clear and specific challenge for cause; (2) he or she used a peremptory challenge on the complained-of venire member; (3) his or her peremptory challenges were exhausted; (4) his or her request for additional strikes was denied; and (5) an objectionable juror sat on the jury.

f.      Failing to make an offer of proof – In order to preserve a claim on appeal that evidence was improperly excluded, you must make an offer of proof of what the evidence or testimony would have been.¹⁵ This is because the appellate court cannot review whether the evidence should not have been excluded if it does not know what, specifically, it was.