A standing — or continuing — objection asks the judge to treat the defense as having objected to each item on the state's exhibit list, so counsel need not rise for every photograph, lab report or physical item as it is offered. The stated purpose is to keep the hearing moving while still protecting the record.
The objection rests on three overlapping grounds. On foundation and chain of custody, the defense questions how the rifle, screwdriver and towel recovered from the Losee Center roof were handled and transferred to the FBI crime laboratory. On reliability, it flags the margins of error in the DNA analysis the state intends to rely on. On relevance and prejudice, it argues certain exhibits risk inflaming rather than informing.
The relief requested is narrow: that the court note the continuing objection as to admissibility, reserve ruling where appropriate, and permit the defense to renew specific challenges at trial should the case be bound over. It does not ask the judge to halt the preliminary hearing.
Judge Graf allowed the preliminary hearing to proceed with the standing objection noted on the record, reserving admissibility questions rather than excluding the exhibits outright. The DNA analysis and evidence-handling testimony the objection targets were heard and cross-examined over the hearing's opening days.