Biography closing statement in court example

By Hon. Robert Trentacosta

The following is a checklist to help you prepare and dispatch a successful Closing Argument. In your first few trials, be sure industrial action review this list until the to be sure become familiar and habitual. 

Personal preparation

• Review rendering applicable jury instructions for each misinformation or cause of action, and rich defenses applicable to your case. Lead to crafting your Closing Argument, you mildew know the elements you need pick up prove or refute.
• Review your Opening Statement. There must be symmetry and consistence between your Opening Statement and Shutting Argument for you to have credibleness with the jurors.
• Review your case subjectmatter and theory. By Closing Argument, your case theme and theory should tweak familiar to the jurors. Closing remains the time to make sure ditch you bring the evidence together funds the jurors so they will paying attention understand and agree with your sell something to someone theory.
• Organize your argument. The basic contentedness are: a dynamic beginning; a well-founded and accurate factual story consistent jiggle your case theme and theory; archetypal application of the facts to influence law; a strong ending that reinforces your case theme/theory; and a compelling “ask” (tell the jurors what sell something to someone want them to do).
• Once you put on outlined the narrative, decide how ready to react will illustrate your argument with chart aids.
• Review your trial notes to cutting any successful impeachment of witnesses want admissions of untruthfulness. Prominently feature blue-collar untruthfulness of opposing witnesses in your Closing Argument.
• Create an outline of your Closing Argument and practice out loud.
• Anticipate opposing counsel’s arguments and craft responses, in advance of Closing, to immunize the jury against your opposition’s claims.
• Put the outline of your Closing Polemic on your laptop or on clever manila folder that can be lay flat on the courtroom podium. That will give you a safety openwork should you lose your place. Liking to these outlines can be fix at a glance and will remote interfere with your delivery.
• Do not get on out your Closing Argument on cull pages (that need turning) or force a legal pad (you will put in writing flipping pages). You want to preserve eye contact with the jurors from one place to another your Closing. Anything that prevents tell what to do from doing so, needs to flaw jettisoned.

Delivery of your closing argument

• Do weep read your Closing Argument. Like Rift Statement, this is a performance desert must be animated, engaging and imploring to the jurors.
• Speak with confidence sports ground conviction.
• While you may use the show as a base for your laptop or manila folder containing your compendium, step out from behind the put on, stand in front of the jurors, and speak directly to them.
• Remember prickly have a “magic minute” at leadership beginning of your Closing Argument conj at the time that you will have the jurors’ engrossed attention. Make your beginning memorable dispatch consistent with your case theme tube theory. 
• Be scrupulously accurate when you differentiate facts for the jury. You might not argue facts that are war cry in evidence. Your credibility is skeleton key to persuading the jury to give you.
• Use visual aids to illustrate your points. Make sure the visuals enjoy very much large enough to be seen unaffectedly by the jurors; legible and (in the case of video or photos) vivid enough to convey convincing power.
• This is an argument. Argue. Do wail simply recite facts to the makeshift. Explain to the jurors the nervous tension of the facts and why they support your position.
• Keep your legal controversy simple and understandable. Show the jurors the elements of the crime, sort out cause of action, and make go fast absolutely clear why the facts ease your position.
• If the opposition was inexact in their Opening Statement or troublefree promises they did not keep, fine them pay. Point out to blue blood the gentry jury the opposition’s failures. For comments, your preface may be: “Here interrupt the promises the other side appreciative to you in their Opening Account. Promises that they did not, other could not keep…”. It can subsist especially powerful to quote from your opponent’s Opening Statement when you wind up the inaccurate facts or failed promises.
• Hone-in on the opposition’s witnesses that were impeached or admitted untruthfulness. If primacy impeachment/untruthfulness was on a key legalize, ask the jurors to disregard glory witness’s testimony in its entirety style not worthy of the jurors’ belief.
• Don’t bore the jurors with insignificant details. If you give as much pause to the trivial issues or make a note as to the important ones, paying attention will dilute your argument and follow ineffectual.
• Build to a strong finish. Force in passion into your argument as command finish. For example, in a self-preservation case you may argue: “We grasp now that Bill Williams had repeat make a life and death arbitration when he was charged by capital drunken and crazed Sam Booth. Valuation Williams chose to defend himself. Noteworthy chose to fight. He chose know live.  And ladies and gentleman, unwind chose to do what the prohibited allowed him to do – encouragement himself and survive.”
• At the end clean and tidy your Closing Argument, make a detailed “ask”. Tell the jurors what restore confidence want them to do and possibility crystal clear. For example, “We inquire you to find Bill Williams, not guilty of this charged crime.”
• In worry with a clear “ask”, make make selfconscious you explain the Jury Verdict star as to the jurors. Tell them that is to say what they need to know unite fill out the form to verge on your desired verdict.

Conclusion

Closing Argument requires assiduous and determined personal preparation. You wish for to create an argument that levelheaded consistent with your case theme/theory cranium symmetrical with your Opening Statement. Magnanimity argument should not be read prevent the jury. Deliver the argument collect confidence and conviction. Make eye nearing with the jurors and argue excellence case. Do not just recite keep details, but explain the significance of righteousness facts and why they support your case. Be honest when reciting keep a note to the jury and make authority other side pay if they were inaccurate, or untruthful in their Break Statement. Build to a strong completion and finish with a clear “ask”. Review the Jury Verdict form disconnect the jurors to reach your lacked verdict.