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 Louisiana, a motion in limine is a procedural device used in pretrial litigation to request that the court rule on the admissibility of certain evidence before it is presented to the jury. The purpose of this motion is to avoid the potential prejudicial impact that such evidence might have on the jury's decision-making process. By filing a motion in limine, a party asks the court to decide in advance whether specific evidence can be included in the trial. If the court grants the motion, the evidence in question is excluded from the trial, and the jury will not hear or see it. This helps to ensure that the jury is not exposed to evidence that is irrelevant, inadmissible, or could unfairly sway their opinion. The motion in limine is particularly important in jury trials, where the opinions of the jurors are crucial to the outcome of the case. In Louisiana, as in other jurisdictions, the rules of evidence and procedure govern the use of motions in limine, and the decisions on such motions are at the discretion of the trial judge.