Legal Definitions - sidebar comment

A sidebar comment refers to an unprompted and often contentious remark made by a lawyer or a witness during a legal proceeding, such as a trial or a deposition. These comments are considered extraneous to the legal questions or testimony at hand and can be seen as an attempt to influence the atmosphere or inject personal opinions rather than provide relevant information.

Here are some examples to illustrate this term:

• Example 1 (Attorney during trial): During a heated cross-examination, after the judge overrules an objection from the opposing counsel, the questioning attorney mutters, "Finally, some common sense," loud enough for the jury to hear. This remark is a sidebar comment because it is an unnecessary, argumentative statement made by an attorney that is not part of the legal questioning or argument. It attempts to express personal opinion and potentially sway the jury's perception of the ruling.

• Example 2 (Witness during deposition): A witness in a deposition is asked to confirm the date they last saw a particular document. After providing the correct date, the witness adds, "And honestly, I think the defendant is just trying to hide the truth by asking these trivial questions." The witness's unsolicited opinion about the defendant's motives is a sidebar comment. It is an unnecessary and argumentative remark that goes beyond answering the specific question asked and injects personal judgment into the testimony.

• Example 3 (Attorney during closing arguments): In a criminal trial's closing arguments, the prosecutor, while summarizing the evidence, points towards the defendant and says, "And you can see the lack of remorse on their face, can't you?" This is a sidebar comment because the defendant's facial expression is not evidence presented during the trial. The prosecutor is making an unnecessary, argumentative remark designed to appeal to the jury's emotions or perceptions rather than relying on the facts and evidence admitted into the record.