Short answer. Yes. Section 15 of Rule 132 lets the court, on its own or on motion, order witnesses excluded so they cannot hear each other testify, and even keep them separated and prevented from conversing until all have been examined — though it cannot exclude a party or a person essential to that party's case.
What the law says
The court motu proprio or upon motion, shall order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear the testimony of other witnesses.
Rule 132, Section 15 — Exclusion and separation of witnesses. Read the full provision →
What exclusion of witnesses is meant to prevent
The concern behind this rule is straightforward: if witnesses sit through each other's testimony before giving their own, an honest witness's memory can be unintentionally colored by what they just heard, and a dishonest one gets a roadmap for tailoring a story to match. Section 15 addresses this directly by having the court order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear the testimony of other witnesses, and it can act on its own initiative — motu proprio — or on a party's motion, so a litigant does not need to wait for the judge to think of it.
It goes further than just leaving the courtroom
Exclusion under this section is not limited to keeping witnesses out during testimony. The court may also cause witnesses to be kept separate and to be prevented from conversing with one another, directly or through intermediaries, until all shall have been examined. That reaches informal coordination too — witnesses comparing notes in the hallway, or passing messages through a third person, not just sitting together inside the courtroom.
Four categories the rule does not let you exclude
The exclusion power is not unlimited. It does not authorize exclusion of a party who is a natural person, a duly designated representative of a juridical entity that is a party, a person whose presence is essential to the presentation of the party's cause, or a person a statute authorizes to be present. A party has a basic right to be present at their own trial, and the rule protects that even while allowing other witnesses to be kept apart.
Making it work in practice
Because the rule allows the court to act on motion, a litigant who anticipates this problem should raise it early — ideally before testimony begins — rather than after witnesses have already heard each other speak, since exclusion cannot undo testimony already given in another witness's presence. Identifying in advance which witnesses on the other side genuinely need to be kept apart, and why, makes the request easier for a court to grant.
Related provisions
- Rule 132, Section 15 — Exclusion and separation of witnesses
- Rule 132, Section 14 — How witness impeached by evidence of inconsistent statements
- Rule 132, Section 16 — When witness may refer to memorandum