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 North Carolina, a motion in limine is a pretrial request made to the court to rule on the admissibility of certain evidence before it is presented during the trial. The goal of this motion is to prevent potentially prejudicial evidence from being introduced in front of the jury without the judge's approval. This helps to ensure that the jury is not exposed to evidence that may be inadmissible or could unfairly sway their opinion. The motion in limine requires the party wishing to introduce the evidence to first approach the bench and discuss its admissibility with the judge outside the hearing range of the jury. If the judge grants the motion, the evidence in question is excluded from the trial. The use of motions in limine is governed by North Carolina's Rules of Evidence and relevant case law, and they are a common part of pretrial proceedings in both civil and criminal cases.