Suppose that a lawyer asks a question that may breach some court protocol. Is it acceptable for a witness to turn to the judge and say "Objection!" and possibly go on to explain the nature of the objection, whereupon the judge makes a ruling?
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Generally, a witness cannot object to a question on the grounds that it fails to conform to a rule of evidence (e.g. hearsay).
A witness can refuse to testify on a matter either due to the 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, or on the grounds that some other privilege (e.g. attorney-client, clergy confession, spousal) applies.
A witness can also say that they don't understand the question as phrased (either because it is complicated or because it contains terminology or concepts that the witness doesn't understand), or that the witness didn't hear the question, or that the witness forgot what the question was while the lawyers and judges were discussing whether it could be asked. This often results in the question being restated or rephrased.
A witness may also answer a question by stating that there is no answer to the question as it is based upon a false premise (e.g. "on which day of the week did you beat your wife?"). And, if true, a witness can properly answer that they don't know the answer, either because they never knew or because they don't currently recall the answer.
ohwilleke
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