Transcript Keys to an Effective Opening Statement

Opening Statements Have
A MAJOR IMPACT on the Jury
 Shape the ways that jurors receive the evidence
 Serves as the lens through which jurors see the
evidence when it comes in over the course of the trial
 Carefully select the evidence you are going to preview
for the jury
 Should parallel the closing statement
 “Evidence itself is eloquence, and the facts, if properly
arranged, will make the argument which you are not
allowed to make as such. The facts, if put together
right, will shout louder than you could” (Stryker).
Start With Your Argument
 Ideally, the opening statement should start with a clear
statement of the main argument of your case.
 The main argument should be short, consisting of a
one- to two-sentence statement which sets out the
factual and emotional bases for the case.
 The main argument should be reinforced during the
presentation by restating it, particularly near the end of
the statement.
Example of Arguments or
“Taglines”
 “No one would take on his case…until one man was willing to take on
the system.” (Philadelphia)
 “In the heart of the nation’s capital, in a courthouse of the U.S.
government, one man will stop at nothing to keep his honor, and one
will stop at nothing to find the truth.” (A Few Good Men)
 “Sometimes it’s dangerous to presume.” (Presumed Innocent)
 “There are two sides of this mystery. Murder…and passion.” (Jagged
Edge)
 “In a world of lies, nothing is more dangerous than the truth.” (Shadow
of Death)
 “On the other side of drinks, dinner, and a one night stand, lies a
terrifying love story.” (Fatal Attraction)
Options for Organizing
Your Opening
Tell Your Story (Paint the Picture)
 No one can resist a good story!
 A story provides jurors with a framework that they can use
to filter and organize the evidence they see and hear during
the trial.
Example
 The government's opening statement in the sentencing trial of admitted
terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui provides a good example here. The opening
lines alone contain several elements of good storytelling, including vivid
character development and foreshadowing.
 September 11th, 2001 dawned clear, crisp and blue in the northeast United
States. In lower Manhattan in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center,
workers sat down at their desks tending to e-mail and phone messages from
the previous days. In the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, military and
civilian personnel sat in briefings, were focused on their paperwork. In those
clear blue skies over New York, over Virginia, and over Pennsylvania, in two
American Airlines jets and in two United Airlines jets, weary travelers sipped
their coffee and read their morning papers as flight attendants made their first
rounds. And in fire and police stations all over New York City, the bravest
among us reported for work. It started as an utterly normal day, but a day that
started so normally and with such promise, soon became a day of abject
horror. By morning's end, 2,972 people were slaughtered in cold blood.
Focus on Your Key Facts
 Take, for example, the opening statement of the prosecution in the
fictional trial at the center of the movie "A Few Good Men."
There, the key issue was whether two marines killed a third marine
deliberately or accidentally. In its opening, the prosecution
effectively told its story by focusing on a discrete (but powerful) set
of facts:
 The facts of the case are this: At midnight on August 6th, the
defendants went into the barracks room of their platoon-mate, PFC
William Santiago. They woke him up, tied his arms and legs with
rope, and forced a rag into his throat. A few minutes later, a chemical
reaction in Santiago's body called lactic acidosis caused his lungs to
begin bleeding. He drowned in his own blood and was pronounced
dead at 32 minutes past midnight. These are the facts of the case—
and they are undisputed.
Account for the Bad Facts
 Disclose problems such as damaging evidence which you
expect to appear at trial. Take the sting out of these problems
by briefly addressing them and putting them in the most
favorable light.
 In defending Imelda Marcos in her 1990 trial on racketeering
and fraud charges, Gerry Spence conceded what the jury was
sure to learn at trial: "She spent money. No question about that.
She is a world-class spender. She is a world-class shopper.” But
he also used that concession to highlight the theme of his
defense, namely, that she was a "small, fragile woman" with
little grasp of "the intricacies of finance" who was manipulated
by others.”
Reminders to Creating the
Effective Openings
Be Clear and Organized
 Present your opening statement in a clear and
organized manner.
 Do not confuse the jury. Digressions detract from the
impact of the statement and should not be included.
 Simplify complex material by telling jurors how you
will cover this material and its significance to the case
in advance of a full discussion of it.
 This means you have to get organized as a group so your
opening can be cohesive and help to strengthen and
organize the other parts.
Let’s take a look at an effective
opening argument
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFqKTmMnlho
Organizing the Presentation
 The main argument is reinforced several times during
the closing argument.
 Placement of important points in the main argument
capitalizes on how people remember information.
 Redundancy serves to reinforce important information,
provided the redundant information is sufficiently
varied so that it does not bore the jury.
Organize Your Speech
 Handle your evidence
 Attack your opponent’s case
 Motivate the jurors
 End on a strong note
Handling Your Evidence
 Persuasive closing arguments provide a detailed
description of the party's evidence
 The strengths of favorable evidence are reinforced.
 Where possible, weak or potentially damaging
evidence is addressed by putting it in the best light.
Attacking Your Opponent's Case
 Any failures to deliver on promises made during the
opening statement are revealed.
 The jurors' memory for inconsistent, contradictory, and
otherwise damaging evidence in the opponent's case is
refreshed.
Motivating the Jurors
 Emotions (pathos) are the key to motivating
people. Appeals to appropriate emotions which are
supported by the evidence provides jurors with the
motivation to return a favorable verdict.
Effective Ways to End A Speech
 Recite a couple of lines from the story that are
memorable and also prove your claims
 End with a heart-felt human interest story
 Ask rhetorical questions and answer with an easy to
remember one-liner
See a great example of a
closing statement!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMi_H_Iu9hY
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZiplVINs0g
Topic Sentences
 Make a strong statement to support your charge.
 These topic sentences are REASONS WHY your
person is guilty or innocent.
 They are strong statements to make the jury think and
want to believe and hear what you have to say.
Analysis
 Make sure you use Literary Technique to develop
Hemingway’s implied purpose and blame
 Handle your evidence. What is the evidence?
 How does this quote prove your point? Use plenty of
persuasive tools to help develop a strong argument!
 Analyze for tone, punctuation, motive, diction, crime
scene evidence, character profile, etc.
 Be clear and do not confuse the jury
Rebuttal
 Begin by presenting the evidence your opposition just gave
 They will state 4 quotes for their evidence, but you will have 2
of their quotes
 You can paraphrase the oppositions evidence for sake of
time and clarity
 Begin with:
 My opposition just stated…
 You have just heard…
 The evidence the defense/prosecution just used…
 Reiterate the rationale behind the other side choosing their
quote.
 The other side claims that…
 The defense/prosecution chose this evidence because…
Rebuttal Cont…
 NOW this is your turn to:
 Use an effective quote that directly opposes the
opposition’s quote and/or argument.
 This quote will prove why the opposing side’s evidence
is false or faulty AND make your side seem stronger.
Commentary for Rebuttal
 Show how quote disproves the opposing argument and
also strengthens your argument
 Although the opposing side believes …, this piece of
evidence proves that…
 The other side may state that… but here, you see that…
 However, it is apparent…
 What the opposing side fails to show…
Optional Counter
 As the opposing side presents their rebuttal, as a team, you should
be searching for evidence or statements to disprove what they just
claimed.
 After they finish, you can optionally choose to do another rebuttal
to shoot down any claims they just made.
 Effective rebuttals/counters can really strengthen you case in the
eyes of a jury. However, ineffective rebuttals/counters can really
weaken your credibility.
 If you do not have anything to say, state “The
defense/prosecution rests.”