what does it mean when a judge says sustained

When a judge says “sustained,” it means the judge agrees with a lawyer’s objection and will not allow that question or evidence to be used.

Basic meaning

• In court, “objection, sustained” means the judge is upholding the objection. The question cannot be answered, or the evidence cannot be admitted.

• The opposite is “objection, overruled,” which means the judge disagrees and allows the question or evidence.

What happens after “sustained”

• The witness usually is not allowed to answer the objected-to question, and the lawyer must move on or rephrase the question.

• If the witness already answered before the ruling, the judge may tell the jury to “strike” the answer and ignore it.

Why judges sustain objections

Common reasons a judge might sustain an objection include:

• The question is irrelevant to the case
• The question calls for hearsay
• The question is a leading question (on direct examination)
• The question is argumentative, confusing, or lacks proper foundation

Other legal use of “sustain”

• Outside objections, “to sustain” can also mean to uphold a lower court’s ruling on appeal, leaving that decision in place.

TL;DR: When a judge says “sustained,” they are agreeing with the objection and blocking that question or evidence from being considered.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.