Withdrawn

[elemenope]

Since school's let out, I have been watching quite a bit of Law and Order, SVU (Special Victims Unit). Say that one lawyer calls a witness to the stand and begins asking questions. Sometimes, the other lawyer will say "objection!" and the first lawyer will respond "withdrawn". What does that mean, when they say "withdrawn"? Is it just to say "off the record", or what?

[wakeover]

The term 'withdrawn' implies that the asker of the question realises that the question was against the rule of law and therefore wishes to remove the question from the record. However if his opposing lawyer fails to object then he gets the question allowed.

[johnny37]

Also, even though the question is withdrawn the thought is put into the Jury's mind. The judge can ask the jury tp disregard it but the damage is already done.