In preliminary questions, who determines admissibility?

• A. Judge
• B. Jury
• C. Both
• D. Neither

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that deciding admissibility in preliminary questions is a judge’s task because it’s a question of law. The judge applies the rules of evidence to determine whether a piece of information can be considered at trial. This gatekeeping covers issues like relevance, authentication, hearsay exceptions, and privilege, and it includes rulings on expert testimony when required. Once the judge has ruled that something is admissible, it can be presented to the jury, which then weighs that evidence along with others. The jury does not decide whether evidence is admissible—its role is to evaluate the facts and the weight of admitted evidence.