Also known as: substantially prejudicial · prejudice
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Harm or bias of a magnitude sufficient to impair a party's rights or the integrity of judicial proceedings. The standard requires that the detriment be concrete and material rather than speculative or minor.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Seth Shapiro sued Sterling Manufacturing for breach of contract. During trial Sterling offered a witness who had participated in settlement talks. The court admitted the witness's testimony about those talks to show the witness's bias against Shapiro. The admission turned on the evidence serving a purpose other than proving liability.
Sofia Stern appeared before Judge Simon Stern in a contract dispute against Sapphire Technologies. The judge had previously expressed strong personal animosity toward Stern's counsel in unrelated matters. Stern moved for disqualification. The court granted the motion because the judge's personal prejudice concerning the lawyer created grounds for recusal.
Scott Summers left Sapphire Holdings to join another firm. Before the move Summers's new firm reviewed limited client information to identify conflicts. The review was structured so that no confidential details reached parties adverse to Summers's former clients. The limited disclosure avoided any substantial prejudice to those clients.
Simone Sanders faced charges involving an alleged scheme. The government sought to introduce evidence of an earlier similar transaction. The trial court admitted the evidence after finding sufficient proof that Sanders committed the prior act and that its probative value on intent was not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice. The jury received a limiting instruction.
Sarah Sullivan contracted with Starlight Media to supply equipment. Starlight delivered nonconforming units that Sullivan accepted to avoid production delays. Sullivan later demanded adequate assurance of future performance from Starlight. The acceptance did not prejudice Sullivan's right to seek that assurance.
Sapphire Holdings was indicted in a district where extensive pretrial publicity had saturated the community. The company moved under Rule 21(a) for transfer to another district. The court found that the level of prejudice against the defendant made a fair trial impossible in the original district. The proceeding was transferred.
Evidence from compromise negotiations is admissible when offered for a purpose other than proving liability, such as showing a witness's bias or prejudice. The court must determine that the alternative purpose is legitimate and that the evidence is not being used to circumvent the exclusionary rule.
A judge must disqualify when the judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or the party's lawyer. The bias must be personal rather than arising solely from the judge's rulings in the case.
…the city’s stated concerns about (among other things) “legal responsibility” and “crowded conditions” rested on “an irrational prejudice” against the intellectually disabled. Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. , 473 U. S. 432, 448–450 (1985) (internal quotation marks omitted). And in another case, this Court…
…Amendment. I doubt that lawyers serving on such a tribunal would be swayed either by undue sympathy for officers or by the
…whose memory might be faulty or who, in fact, might be perjurers or persons motivated by malice, vindictiveness, intolerance, prejudice, or jealousy. We have formalized these protections in the requirements of confrontation and cross-examination. They have ancient roots. They find expression in the Sixth Amendment . . . .…
…has been deemed to have no direct relation to navigation or commerce and the operation of the local law "would work no material prejudice to the essential features of the general maritime law." Western Fuel Co. v. Garcia , 257 U.S. 233, 242; Grant Smith-Porter Co. v. Rohde , 257 U.S. 469, 477; Millers' Indemnity…
…a stated or obvious objective would be relevant to that inquiry. Chevron voluntarily dismissed its due process claim without prejudice
A lawyer may reveal limited information to detect conflicts arising from a change of employment only if the revelation would not compromise the attorney-client privilege or otherwise prejudice the client. The disclosure must be narrowly tailored to avoid any material harm.
The government must produce sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that the defendant committed the prior act. The probative value on a non-propensity issue must not be substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.
No. Acceptance of any improper delivery or payment does not prejudice the aggrieved party's right to demand adequate assurance of future performance under UCC § 2-609(3).
The court must transfer the proceeding if so great a prejudice against the defendant exists in the district that the defendant cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial there. The defendant bears the burden of showing the level of prejudice is substantial.