Should You Object to Compound Questions?

A question to a witness is objectionable on the ground that it’s compound if it joins two or more questions with the disjunctive “or” or the conjunctive “and.” But it may not always make sense to object. Here’s a look at the dangers of compound questions and how to handle them. The statutory authority for the “compound” objection is in Evid C §765, which allows the trial judge wide discretion in controlling the examination of witnesses. There’s actually no statute that specifically mentions compound questions. The dangers presented by compound questions are mostly about potential confusion. A compound question may be a problem because It leads to inaccurate testimony if the witness is confused by the multiple facets of the question; The resulting testimony is confusing because it’s unclear which part of the question the witness is answering; Part of the question may call for inadmissible evidence; and An appellate…

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