Under Rule 59, what can the judge do regarding credibility?

• A. Consider only legal errors
• B. Credibility of witnesses
• C. Deny the motion for lack of credibility
• D. Consider new evidence not previously available

Answer: (B)

Rule 59 lets a court grant a new trial when the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, and in making that call the judge can reweigh the evidence and evaluate the credibility of witnesses. This means the judge isn’t limited to legal errors or to accepting the jury’s credibility findings at face value; if the witnesses’ credibility or the overall balance of evidence would likely lead to a different outcome, a new trial may be warranted. The other ideas—focusing only on legal errors, denying relief simply because credibility seems lacking, or introducing new evidence—aren’t the main way credibility is addressed under Rule 59.