[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-573128-105":53,"doc-detail-573128-en":120},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":113,"head_meta":115,"extra_data":117,"updated_unix":119},105,"en","how-to-object-when-youre-objecting-deposition-tips","HOW TO OBJECT WHEN YOU’RE OBJECTING -  - Deposition Tips","","Guidance on preserving deposition objections in Missouri courts, focusing on why generic “objections to form” fail without specificity. Explains the purpose of Missouri Supreme Court Rule 57.07(b)(4): objections to question form must be stated with enough detail to let questioning counsel rephrase, lay better foundation, or clarify. Distinguishes form-based objections from those tied to the content of testimony, such as qualified-opinion limits, credibility comments, speculation, relevance, and hearsay, noting which need not be raised during the deposition.",{"@graph":63,"@context":112},[64,80,95],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/how-to-object-when-youre-objecting-deposition-tips/573128/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"author":82,"headline":59,"publisher":85,"fileFormat":88,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":89,"datePublished":89,"encodingFormat":88,"isAccessibleForFree":90,"interactionStatistic":91},"DigitalDocument",{"name":83,"@type":84},"Mary Man","Person",{"url":68,"name":86,"@type":87},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-13",true,{"@type":92,"interactionType":93,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":94},"ViewAction",{"@type":96,"mainEntity":97},"FAQPage",[98,104,108],{"name":99,"@type":100,"acceptedAnswer":101},"Why is a generic “objection to form” insufficient in Missouri depositions?","Question",{"text":102,"@type":103},"Missouri courts hold that a boilerplate objection “to the form of the question” without more detail does not preserve the objection to admissibility at trial.","Answer",{"name":105,"@type":100,"acceptedAnswer":106},"What does Rule 57.07(b)(4) require for objections to the form of questions?",{"text":107,"@type":103},"Objections to the form must be raised during the deposition and the grounds must be specifically stated to give questioning counsel an opportunity to rephrase, lay a better foundation, or clarify.",{"name":109,"@type":100,"acceptedAnswer":110},"Which objection types must be raised during a deposition to preserve them for form-based admissibility?",{"text":111,"@type":103},"Form-based objections include argumentative, asked-and-answered, assumes facts not in evidence, calls for a narrative response, calls for legal conclusion, compound, leading, overly broad, and vague/indefinite/speculative objections.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":114,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":86,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":116,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":118,"site_id":56},573128,1791932895,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":121},{"doc_id":118,"user_id":122,"nickname":83,"user_avatar":123,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":124,"file_id":125,"file_url":126,"file_type":127,"file_size":128,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":129,"language":130,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":131,"faqs":132,"seo_title":133,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":119,"read_time":79},7421720224475,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","December 20, 2019 • Publications • [www.atllp.com](www.atllp.com)  \nHOW TO OBJECT WHEN YOU’RE OBJECTING (AND OTHER DEPOSITION TIPS)  \nSt. Louis Bar Journal  \nRepublished with the permission of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the St. Louis Bar Journal.  \nIf you have ever taken a deposition in a Missouri case, you have probably heard a fellow practitioner lodge an objection “to the form of the question.” You may have even heard the abbreviated version of the objection, i.e.,“Object to form”or the still shorter “Form.” Perhaps you have made these objections yourself.  \nThese are mistakes. Missouri courts hold that a boilerplate objection “to the form of the question” —without more detail—is not sufficient to preserve an objection to the admissibility of the deposition testimony at trial.1  \nPEOPLE  \nMaureen O. Bryan  \nGENERAL OBJECTIONS TO “FORM” ARE LACKING IN SUBSTANCE  \nSo why do many attorneys continue to assert this insufficient, generic objection? The explanation stems from the language of Missouri Supreme Court Rule 57.07(b)(4), describing which objections are waived if not raised during a deposition:  \nAn objection to the competency, relevancy, or materiality of testimony is not waived by failure to object before or during the deposition. Errors and irregularities in the manner of taking the deposition, in the form of the questions or answers, in the oath or affirmation, or in the conduct of parties and errors of any kind that might be cured if promptly presented are waived unless seasonable objection thereto is made during the deposition.2  \nWhile the rule requires objections to the form of questions to be raised during a deposition, it does not specify how the objection must be made.  \nAs Missouri courts have made clear, the grounds for objecting to the form of a question must be specifically stated during the deposition. This is because the purpose of Rule 57 .07(b)(4) is “to give questioning counsel an opportunity torephrase the question, lay a better foundation, or clarify the question so that evidence will not be rejected at trial because of inadvertent omissions or careless questions.”3 To have any value, an objection to the form of a question must be specific enough to allow questioning counsel to cure the question by rephrasing it, laying a better foundation, or clarifying it.4 In other words, it must  \nbe a specific objection and not a general one.5  \nWHICH OBJECTIONS GO TO THE FORM OF THE QUESTION?  \nTo identify which specific objections must be raised during a deposition, it helps to distinguish the form of the question from the content of the answer.6 Objections to the form of the question include:  \n• argumentative;7  \n• asked and answered;8  \n• assumes facts not in evidence;9  \n• calls for a narrative response;10  \n• calls for legal conclusion;11  \n• compound;12  \n• leading;13  \n• overly broad;14 and  \n• vague, indefinite, or speculative.15  \nThese objections speak to the form of the question, because the questioning attorney can cure the objection by rephrasing the inquiry. Therefore, these objections may not be stated simply as to “form,” but must be specifically and seasonably asserted during the deposition. Otherwise, any objection to admissibility at trial, based on the form of the question, is waived.  \nBy contrast, when the content of an answer is objectionable, the basis for objection cannot be cured by rephrasing the question and need not be raised during the deposition at all. The most common of these objections are:  \n• opinions or conclusions the deponent is not qualified to give; 16  \n• comments on the credibility of other witnesses;17  \n• calls for speculation;18  \n• relevance;19 and  \n• hearsay.20  \nUnlike improper questions, these errors cannot be obviated, removed, or cured by rephrasing a question. For example, if a lay deponent is not qualified to offera certain opinion, it is not due to the form of any particular question; rather, it is a function of the witness’ lack o","cbCaibteCPXxBGmC","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibteCPXxBGmC","pdf",121378,10,"English","# General Objections to “Form” Are Lacking in Substance\n## Which Objections Go to the Form of the Question?\n## Specific Objections Versus “Speaking” Objections\n## Distinctions Between Federal and Missouri Depositions","[{\"question\":\"Why is a generic “objection to form” insufficient in Missouri depositions?\",\"answer\":\"Missouri courts hold that a boilerplate objection “to the form of the question” without more detail does not preserve the objection to admissibility at trial.\"},{\"question\":\"What does Rule 57.07(b)(4) require for objections to the form of questions?\",\"answer\":\"Objections to the form must be raised during the deposition and the grounds must be specifically stated to give questioning counsel an opportunity to rephrase, lay a better foundation, or clarify.\"},{\"question\":\"Which objection types must be raised during a deposition to preserve them for form-based admissibility?\",\"answer\":\"Form-based objections include argumentative, asked-and-answered, assumes facts not in evidence, calls for a narrative response, calls for legal conclusion, compound, leading, overly broad, and vague/indefinite/speculative objections.\"}]","HOW TO OBJECT WHEN YOU’RE OBJECTING -  - Deposition Tips | PDF"]