Meaning & use
sidebar in court
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablelegalAmerican
A brief private conversation between the judge and the lawyers, held at the judge's bench so the jury cannot hear.
Grammar: Countable: request a sidebar, hold a sidebar.
Patterns
- request a sidebar
- approach for a sidebar
The lawyer asked for a sidebar in court to argue about the evidence.
The judge called a sidebar in court and the jury waited.
During the sidebar in court, white noise was played so the jury could not hear.
Word forms
| plural | sidebars |
|---|
Common combinations
- request a sidebar
- The defense attorney requested a sidebar.
- call a sidebar
- The judge called a sidebar before the next witness.
- approach for a sidebar
- Both lawyers approached for a sidebar.
- hold a sidebar in court
- The judge held a sidebar in court about the objection.
- sidebar conference
- A sidebar conference lasted five minutes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bench conference
- Bench conference is the same thing, and is the more formal term.
- sidebar conference
- Sidebar conference is the full name, used in transcripts.
- chambers conference
- A chambers conference is held in the judge's private office, not at the bench in the courtroom.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sidebar in court or sidebar in a newspaper?
sidebar in court vs sidebar in a newspaper
In a newspaper a sidebar is a short article next to a main story; in court it is a private talk with the judge.
Practice
The judge asked both lawyers to come to the bench for a ____ so the jury would not hear.
Choose one answer.
A sidebar is a private talk at the bench. A recess is a break, a verdict is a decision and an appeal is a request for a new ruling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sidebar in court”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.