Which objection concerns a question that asks for conclusions beyond common knowledge from a lay witness?

Which objection concerns a question that asks for conclusions beyond common knowledge from a lay witness?

• A. Improper Opinion
• B. Lack of Personal Knowledge
• C. Narrating
• D. Asked and Answered

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is recognizing when a question asks a lay witness to provide a conclusion that goes beyond what an ordinary person could know from perception. That’s exactly what Improper Opinion covers. A lay witness can share observations based on their senses and common experience—things like “the car was speeding” or “the witness looked nervous.” But they’re not supposed to render conclusions about motives, intent, or mental states that require specialized knowledge or legal conclusions. When a question asks a lay witness to make such a beyond-common-knowledge conclusion, it’s inviting an opinion that isn’t permitted without expert testimony, so an objection for Improper Opinion is appropriate. Lack of Personal Knowledge would apply if the witness doesn’t have any basis to testify about a fact at all. Narrating concerns the witness giving more story than factual answers, and Asked and Answered targets repetition. None of those fit the scenario as well as Improper Opinion.

The key idea here is recognizing when a question asks a lay witness to provide a conclusion that goes beyond what an ordinary person could know from perception. That’s exactly what Improper Opinion covers. A lay witness can share observations based on their senses and common experience—things like “the car was speeding” or “the witness looked nervous.” But they’re not supposed to render conclusions about motives, intent, or mental states that require specialized knowledge or legal conclusions. When a question asks a lay witness to make such a beyond-common-knowledge conclusion, it’s inviting an opinion that isn’t permitted without expert testimony, so an objection for Improper Opinion is appropriate.

Lack of Personal Knowledge would apply if the witness doesn’t have any basis to testify about a fact at all. Narrating concerns the witness giving more story than factual answers, and Asked and Answered targets repetition. None of those fit the scenario as well as Improper Opinion.