Mastering the Offer of Proof at Trial

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In a recent Texas Lawyer articleSteve Knight, Co-Chair of Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Appellate practice, and AJ Foreman, associate in our Appellate & Litigation practices, discuss mastering the offer of proof at trial.

Using a hypothetical case, Knight and Foreman review applicable rulings and discuss what litigators can do to preserve error on appeal when the trial court makes an erroneous ruling excluding evidence and grants the opponent’s motion in limine on relevancy grounds. They review available options as well as elements that the record must demonstrate, including that (i) the counsel offered the evidence during trial; (ii) the counsel secured a ruling; and (iii) the actual content and significance of the evidence.

Knight and Foreman provide step by step advice on offering the evidence and preserving the error for appeal. “Make sure you introduce any documents or exhibits during the offer of proof along with the narrative on the record before the court reporter so that it will be included in the clerk’s record and the reporter’s record,” said the authors.

To read the full article, click here.

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