Famous opening statement trial

She went away and came again after I had made the examination. I advised her that she was as lawful a voter as I am, or as any other man is, and advised her to go and offer her vote. I may have been mistaken in that, and if I was mistaken, I believe she acted in good faith. I believe she acted according to her right as the law and Constitution gave it to her.

But whether she did or not, she acted in the most perfect good faith, and if she made a mistake, or if I made one, that is not a reason for committing her to a felon's cell. Trial Record Page. In a complex medical malpractice case, our lawyers usually shoot for 30 minutes and it usually bleeds into 45 minutes.

In a car accident case where the issues are not complex, 20 minutes will almost always be sufficient. The key is not to waste words. Every single thing you say to the jury in opening should be calculated to get your message across without wasting their time. Many lawyers begin their opening by introducing themselves, profusely thanking the jury, and trotting out the old saw that "An opening statement is not evidence but just a road map of how you expect the puzzle pieces to come together, blah, blah, blah.

This is the advice you get when you research "How to write an opening statement" and it is plain wrong. This is the apex of juror attention. Use it. Before we began with our theme of our case. Today, we use a less adversarial approach because we have not established enough credibility with the jury to begin arguing.

Instead, we tell them the most important rule in the case that they need to use to reach a verdict. If you are giving a civil opening statement, you need to explain early the burden of proof in a civil case. Jurors are so used to beyond a reasonable doubt. Focus groups on this issue are mind-blowing.

A good lawyer sets this clear and straight from the beginning. Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure.

Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship. Home Our Team Ronald V. Miller Jr. Laura G.

Zois Rodney M. Gaston Justin P. Zuber Lisa A. Search Search Search. Plaintiff Attorney Legal Information Center. Opening Statements. Example Opening Statements Below are opening statements our lawyers have given at trial in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Sample closing statements. Our firm has a history of getting exceptional results for our clients at trial. It all begins with the opening statement.

There is a new school of thought last 10 years about the best way for plaintiffs' counsel to present an opening statement. This thinking is reflected in all of the example opening statements our lawyers provide above. It would be nice to pretend we invented this format. Speak in the present tense. This method of storytelling keeps the listener interested and creates a real sense of immediacy that is critical to keeping the jury's attention Juries expect a high-tech presentation in Give it to them.

Use technology to show them the evidence. Show the evidence you plan to use: deposition testimony, medical records, documents, etc. Don't use PowerPoint and just give them an outline.

That said, please don't overuse the phrase "the evidence will show. The time to sprinkle that in is if you are about to say something that you arguably should not say in an opening to throw off an objection. Present your story chronologically.

Flashing back and forth is great if you are watching A Handmaid's Tale. But it can be wildly confusing with an oral story. You need to win the battle of keeping it simple and educating the jury. Don't write checks you can't cash.

Tell them what the evidence will show. Don't oversell the case you have. Don't begin advocating until you are more than halfway through your opening. Just give the facts neutrally.

You have to develop credibility with the jury before you start to point fingers. Educate the jurors about the case. Juries appreciate lawyers that provide real information to them that they can use. Save your long speech about how grateful you are for their service. Jurors want to do their jobs correctly and go home. They don't care about your gratitude and it almost invariably comes off as hokey.

I'm also not a fan of "ladies and gentlemen" because people do not talk that way in real life. Get right to what this case is about. How long should your opening statement take? It really depends on the case. The key is to make sure every word matters and that you are as streamlined as possible. You need to have a clear purpose for every point you make in your opening statement.

Explain the case to the juror like you would try to explain it to a friend. Save the big words and the pomp and circumstance. Have a single sentence theme. If you can't find a single sentence to summarize your case, you are not trying hard enough. You need to be able to distill a case, even a complex case, down to one sentence.

Don't tell the jury you are giving them a road map. No one says, "Oh goodie! A road map! Begin by telling the jury the simple rule that would be applied to the case. Jurors are worried they won't be able to do their jobs because they won't understand it. This rule reassures them that there will be a clear road to make their decision. The rule is usually a safety rule.

Bonus Tip: read this book. Then read it again. How to Write an Opening Statement Every lawyer has a different process for preparing an opening. Example Opening Statement I. Let the jurors get to know the best side of you as they learn about your case. Here is the second part. Lowell is one of the leading white- collar defense and trial lawyers in the United States. He served as chief minority counsel during impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton; and from to , he served as special counselor to the U.

Too many attorneys waste too much time explaining standards of proof or the history of juries or some other dry and generic topic. Whatever the main theme of the case may be, get to it quickly and describe it memorably. In defending former North Carolina Sen. And that helped guide them to their favorable verdict. A close corollary is to tell jurors about a key piece or pieces of evidence that will prove your theme. This reinforces the theme and, just as important, establishes you as the director of the events they will see and hear about.

Too many lawyers treat openings as laundry lists to try to describe all a jury will hear and see. No book, movie or play tells the audience everything in the opening chapter or act. Doing so would present too much information to absorb and would cause the reader or watcher to lose interest too fast. A veteran of more than trials who is consistently named one of the top lawyers in the nation, William R.

Before entering private practice, he was a state and federal prosecutor in San Francisco and Washington, where he served as executive assistant U. The opening statement presents the first opportunity for trial counsel to speak to the jury as a unit. Jury selection has been completed and the court may have permitted counsel to ask a few relevant questions of some jurors during voir dire, but this is the first opportunity you as counsel have to speak to the jury as a group and not as individuals.

Tailor your presentation to the people now seated in the jury box. While it is not unusual to find professionals sitting on a jury, your presentation, if possible, should be made using words and expressions that can be understood by jurors who do not have advanced or even college degrees. Some lawyers say using visual aids may detract from your presentation. In this day and age, however, many jurors expect lawyers to use visual aids in court.

Be mindful not to bore the jury with aids while delivering your opening statement, as it may affect your credibility throughout the case.

At the conclusion, tell the jurors what you are asking them to do—render a verdict on behalf of your client. Remind jurors that you will have one other opportunity to speak with them directly, during closing arguments, where you will renew your request that, based on the evidence in the case, your client is entitled to a favorable verdict.

John B. He is one of the most widely acclaimed business trial lawyers in the United States. Jurors are just like the rest of us—in a mad dash to make sense of things, including the case they are hearing. Once they have formed that sense, they spend the rest of the trial seeing whether the evidence fits it.

A mind is a terrible thing to change. People prefer and defend their understanding of things.