Motion in limine is the name commonly given a pretrial motion that attempts to prevent the offer of, or reference to, specific evidence or other matters in the presence of the jury. A motion in limine is designed to require a party offering evidence to approach the bench and inquire into the admissibility of the evidence at issue before introducing that evidence to the jury. The purpose of the motion in limine is to prevent the other party from asking prejudicial questions or introducing prejudicial evidence in front of the jury without first asking the trial court’s permission.

In Delaware, a motion in limine is a pretrial request made by an attorney to the court, seeking to exclude certain evidence from being presented to the jury during a trial. The purpose of this motion is to prevent potentially prejudicial evidence from being seen or heard by the jury before the judge has had an opportunity to rule on its admissibility. This helps to ensure that the jury is not influenced by evidence that is irrelevant, inadmissible, or could unfairly sway their opinion. The motion requires the party wishing to introduce the evidence to first approach the bench and discuss its admissibility with the judge outside the hearing of the jury. If the motion is granted, the evidence in question is prohibited from being mentioned or introduced during the trial unless the court later permits it after further consideration. The use of motions in limine is governed by Delaware's rules of evidence and procedure, and they are a common feature in both civil and criminal trials to help maintain the fairness and integrity of the judicial process.