what does sustained mean in court

In court, “sustained” means the judge is agreeing with a lawyer’s objection and stopping whatever was just asked or offered as evidence.

Quick meaning

When a lawyer objects to a question or a piece of evidence, the judge has to decide whether that objection is valid.

• If the judge says “sustained” , it means: “I agree with the objection.”
  • The question usually cannot be answered,
  • The witness may be told to ignore it, and
  • The jury may be told to disregard the question or answer if anything slipped out.

• If you hear “overruled” instead, that’s the opposite: the judge disagrees with the objection, so the question or evidence is allowed to proceed.

Simple example

A lawyer asks a witness: “What did your friend say the defendant confessed to?”

• The other lawyer objects: “Objection, hearsay.”
• The judge replies: “Sustained.”
  • The witness cannot answer that question, and the case moves on as if that question should not count.

There’s also a related use on appeal: a higher court can “sustain” (uphold) a lower court’s judgment, meaning it leaves that decision in place.

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