Mass. R. Evid. 105
If the court admits evidence that is admissible against a party or for a purpose-but not against another party or for another purpose-the court, on timely request, must restrict the evidence to its proper scope and instruct the jury accordingly.
Mass. Guid. Evid. 105
This section is derived from Commonwealth v. Carrion, 407 Mass. 263, 275 (1990) ("Evidence admissible for one purpose, if offered in good faith, is not inadmissible by the fact that it could not be used for another purpose."). If there is no request for a limiting instruction, the evidence is before the trier of fact for all purposes. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Roberts, 433 Mass. 45, 48 (2000); Commonwealth v. Hollyer, 8 Mass. App. Ct. 428, 431 (1979).
A party must ask for an instruction limiting the scope of the evidence, if one is desired, at the time the evidence is admitted. Roberts, 433 Mass. at 48. Where the evidence is being offered for only one purpose, the party seeking to limit the purpose of the evidence has the burden of requesting the appropriate instruction from the judge at the time that it is offered. Commonwealth v. Lester, 486 Mass. 239, 253 (2020). "A judge may refuse to limit the scope of the evidence where the objecting party fails to request limiting instructions when the evidence is introduced." Roberts, 433 Mass. at 48. "After the close of the evidence it is too late to present as of right a request for a ruling that the evidence be stricken." Id.
The trial judge has discretion in determining how to formulate limiting instructions. A trial judge may point the jury to issues of fact and conflicts of testimony, including which factors to consider when evaluating such testimony. This is permissible as long as "the judge clearly places the function of ultimate appraisal of the testimony upon the jury." Barrette v. Hight, 353 Mass. 268, 271 (1967).
Instructions Required. Once the judge has determined that the evidence is admissible under Section 403, Excluding Relevant Evidence for Prejudice, Confusion, Waste of Time, or Other Reasons, or Section 404(b), Character Evidence; Crimes or Other Acts: Crimes, Wrongs, or Other Acts, a limiting instruction is required where, even though the evidence is admissible for one purpose, there is a risk that the evidence will be improperly used for an inadmissible purpose. See Commonwealth v. McGee, 467 Mass. 141, 158 (2014) (a firearm that could not have been used to shoot victim, but that was offered to establish that defendant was familiar with firearms, was admissible only if accompanied by limiting instruction that it could not be taken as propensity evidence). Where evidence is admitted for a limited purpose, the judge should instruct the jury in accordance with the specific purpose for which the evidence was admitted. Commonwealth v. Howard, 479 Mass. 52, 67-68 (2018).
Timing of Limiting Instructions. Although contemporaneous limiting instructions are preferred, a judge has discretion as to the timing of a limiting instruction. Commonwealth v. Facella, 478 Mass. 393, 402-403 (2017) (no error where judge gave limiting instruction immediately following witness's direct examination, rather than during the testimony, as requested).