Goals of Opening Statements:

1. introduce the case theme to the court and jury

take this opportunity to put an entire story in a compact package so that the jury will
be able to get a bird's-eye view and better comprehend and appreciate the issues and
the evidence.

- a case theme allows jurors to later integrate the evidence into the theme--to make the
disjointed evidence make sense

attorneys should establish rapport with the court and jury

- get jury to identify with your cause

- come across as sincere, honest, understanding, intelligent, dependable, considerate,

warm, kind, friendly, and cheerful

o do not be ill-mannered, unfriendly, hostile, loud-mouthed,

conceited, insincere, unkind, untrustworthy, malicious, or
obnoxious.
o --do not alienate your jury

Structure

- the opening statement itself has an intro, body, and conclusion

- it is a statement, not an argument!!! -- do not encourage the jury to reach conclusions

from abstracted data

introduction, parties, scene, instrumentalities, date/time/weather, issue, what

happened, basis of liability/nonliability or guilt/nonguilt, anticipating and refuting
defenses by plaintiff, damages in civil cases, and conclusion

- introduction

- communicate your case theme, your summary of the facts entitling your side to a
favorable verdict, and your enthusiam about trying the case

- theme is presented during the first minute--typically first sentence:

- this is a case about taking chances

- this is a case about a company that refuses to do

business the American way

- everything that happened here happened because of

greed
 - revenge. that's what this case is all about

- this is a case about police brutatality

- this is a case about an innocent man wrongly

accused

- this is a case about a wrongfully accused man who

instead deserves our honor

- this case is about taking responsibility for wrongful

actions

- greed and misfortune leads us here today

- unjust blame of the innocent is why we are here

today

- the prosecution's rush to judgment is why were are

here, at the detriment of an innocent and loving
father--Mr. Jones

- Explain the key issues, preview the important testimony:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this

lawsuit was filed because the
defendant's car was following
too closely behind the car of
Mary Jane Fox, the plaintiff. The
defendant, Mr. Hare, was not
paying attention to the traffic
ahead of him. As a result, Mary
Jane was hit from behind by Mr.
Hare. She suffered a broken and
separated leg, and she will have
this injury for the rest of her
life."

- key persons are introduced--personalize your client (if the prosecution, personalize
the people of the state and the need for societal safety)

- introduction of who you represent is

humanized so the jury can relate to that entity
or person (for the prosecution, it is the people
of the state, for the plaintiff and defendant, it
is the person or entity you represent)
"May Fox is an elementary school teacher. Before November 22, 1986, she was a very
healthy young woman, twenty-eight years of age. She had been teaching at Pelham
Elementary School for six years. Mary Jane is married and the mother of one three-
year-old son, Jason. She enjoyed jogging, bicycling, and tennis. Never during the
course of any of these activities did she have any trouble with her leg. It was only
after that fateful day when Mr. Jones sped through a red light three days before
Thanksgiving in 1986 that Mary Jane was left parapalegic and unable to enjoy her
previous life, and unable to provide her son with a brother or sister."

- body

- this part of the opening statement contains most of the information

- the defense attorney speaks second, therefore, it is beneficial for the defense attorney
to tell the jury at the outset that there are at least two sides to every story, and they
should not reach a decision in the case until they hear from the defense's side.

- set the scene of the factual incidents

- describe the instruments of the liability or

crime (gun, car, sexual language, etc.)

- provide the date, time, and weather if

important to your case

- reiterate your theme and link it to the issue

of your case

- then tell your best story of what happened

(based on what the evid. will show)

- use vivid language when telling the story--

make it real for the jury

- state the legal elements to be proven (go to

the law library to find this)

- the plaintiff should anticipate and refute defendant's defenses

- question whether you want to bring up your case weaknesses--it might be good to
take the sting out of the weakness right away if the weakness is to become an issue--
but diminish the importance of the weekness (but never make it appear to be apology
or show it as a debilitating aspect of the case).

- do not argue or state personal opinions (save arguments for closing arguments)--this
is an "opening statement" not "opening argument"
 - as for damages in a civil case, the plaintiff
should describe the extensive injuries in
detail--use vivid language to have the jury feel
your client's pain and suffering--the defendant
should express regret that the plaintiff was
injured, but indicate that the injury was not his
client's fault.

- detail must be provided in the body of your speech

- don't just say your client was driving carefully, but also state the facts supporting
such a claim (have support for contentions)

- but don't go overboard with detail==every single detail is poor strategy--look for the
pertinent details (the best ones for your case and worst for the other side's case)

- the overall structure of the story should be chronological--beginning, middle, ending

(juries follow a chronology best)

- conclude the opening statement by hitting the highlights of your case (let them know
what to look for)

- don't give promises that the proof will not show (hurts your credibility and your
case)

- if you promise more than you later give, the other side can note those unfulfilled
promises to the jury in closing argument and prove weaknesses in your case

- the deliberate inclusion of matters that cannot be established by admissible evidence

may constitute a mistrial (i.e. "I expect the defendant has done far worse than what we
can prove here because the defendant really is a rotten guy")

- It is usually best to avoid

summarizing or refuting the
opposition's case, but it is often
good to forewarn the jury to
watch for certain attempts at
counterpersuasion the other side
will use against you (it
inoculates the jury to be resistent
to counterinfluence by first
exposing the jury to the
arguments involved)

-conclusion

- simply and directly reiterate your top facts and state that the truth will show a verdict
for your client.
PRESENTING AND WRITING THE OPENING STATEMENT

- have a narrative style, get the attention of the jury, and have subtle persuasion

- opening statements are basically stories--good storytelling is the essence of effective

narrative style

- be clear and specific

- use words wisely and for a purpose--make the story vivid

- transform the ordinary into the exciting

- incorporate imagery--which involves appealing to the senses

- "the injured plaintiff is crushed and impaled in the collision. His arm is torn off, his
face is shredded, and his leg is made to look like a broomstick."

- analogies supply a sign of something familiar to experience and knowledge

- "This reminds me of my father reading

Robinson Crusoe to me when I was a little
boy. Remember when Robinson Crusoe was
on the island for such a long time all alone?
One morning he went down to the beach and
there was a footprint in the sand. Knowing
that someone else was on the island, he was
so overcome with emotion, he fainted. And
why did he faint? Did he see a man? Did he
see a foot? No. He saw a footprint that was
not his. He saw marks in the sand, the kind
made by another human foot. He saw
circumstantial evidence that he was not alone.
So let's look at the facts of this case--for those
tracks that prove the truth."

- "This is the case of a young mother of three

small children who,

for the rest of her natural life will be

paralyzed from the neck

down because the defendant's tavern sold too

much beer to

an underage driver."

- avoid legaleze--talk to the jury in clear language

- simple words should replace complex ones

- simple sentences are easier to follow and remember

- adopt a case theme

Terms:
Opening statement:
The opening statement is the time during which the attorney may speak to the jury and describe the case. The
opening statement is not an argument, however; in fact, legal arguments are prohibited during the opening
statement. It is during the opening statement that attorneys will tell the story of the case and what they hope to prove
using the evidence that will be presented.

Closing statement:
The closing statement is the time when the attorneys may forcefully argue their sides of the case to the jury. The
closing statement occurs after the close of evidence.

Cross examination:
The cross examination is the questioning of a witness for a particular party by an opposing party.

Direct examination:
The direct examination is the questioning of a witness for a particular party by that party.

Foreperson:
The foreperson is the member of the jury who is designated to lead and speak for the jury.

Juror:
A juror is an individual member of a jury.

Jury selection:
Jury selection is the process by which attorneys and the court choose which prospective jurors will constitute the
jury for a particular action.

Jury instructions:
Jury instructions are statements by the judge to the jury that instruct the jurors on the pertinent law in the jurisdiction
applicable to the action about which they will deliberate.

Verdict:
A verdict is a jurys decision.

1. Greet the jury and introduce yourself.

2. Briefly state the charges.
3. Introduce your client and make an emotional appeal to the jury. Personalize the crime and your
client.
4. Introduce the other side of the courtroom, what they will try to do, and why theyre wrong in their
claims.
5. Present a theory for the case and explain how this will be proved during the trial. Explain that this
is the only explanation the jury will be able to accept.
6. Present some key evidence and witnesses and show how they will support the case that is going
to be made at trial.
7. Tell the jury what they will have to do and their responsibilities in this trial.
8. Conclude with the major takeaway, or the most important point of the cas
Sample Opening Statement
9. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, and thank you for being here today. My name is
William P. Attorney, and Ill be the lead prosecutor in this case.
10. Youre here today to hear evidence in the trial of Mr. H. Porter Sloane, who stands accused of
grand theft auto. Youre going to hear the defenses side of the story, and youre going to be told
a lot of things. Youre going to be told that grand theft auto is a victimless crime. Youre going to
hear a sad story about Mr. Sloane. Youre going to find out that hes a victim of poverty and
circumstance.
11. Youre going to feel sorry for Mr. Sloane. The defense wants you to hear his story and feel sorry
for him, because the defense wants you to believe that his crime is justified.
12. But thats not how the law works. Theres a statue right outside this very building of a woman
holding a pair of scales. That statue is a beautiful womana woman named Justice. And if you
go and look at that statue, youll see that Justice is wearing a blindfold. Its because Justice
doesnt care what Mr. Sloane looks like. Justice doesnt care about his sad story. Justice cares
only about the law.
13. I care about the law, too. Its my job to uphold the law. And in this courtroom, Im going to show
you that Mr. Sloane broke the law. He broke a very clear law thats written in black and write. A
law that everyone knows and understands.
14. Mr. Sloane stole a car. It doesnt matter why he stole that car, or how sad his life has been. It
matters that he stole that car. As members of the jury, its your job to make sure he pays for that
crime. Its your job to be blind, like Justice, because thats the only way we can be sure that
justice will be served.
15. Im going to ask you to serve justice to Mr. Sloane at the end of this trial, and I know that youre
going to see that it gets done. Because Im going to prove that Mr. Sloane broke the law, and at
the end of the day thats all that matters.
16. Thank you.