OPENING STATEMENTS

Objectives

Get the attention of the jury

Outline the facts of your case

Advocate for your client

Painting the Picture

Answer the following questions for the jury:

What happened? Why did it happen? Which witnesses are dependable? How can we be sure? Does it all make sense?

What happened?

Describe your theory of events. This doesn’t have to be an overly dramatized description of the events. Nothing like “Close your eyes and imagine you’re my client”; this isn’t tv or the movies, a simple explanation of the facts you plan to put forth will do.

Why did it happen?

You shouldn’t just list the facts of your theory, you should also provide evidence of motive. Arguments are always more persuasive when you can explain why things happened the way they did.

Example

You might say something like: “Thomas “Duke” Osiski, outraged by the sudden cancellation of a reunion tour that would have saved him from financial ruin, decided to take the life of his friend.”

Which witnesses are dependable?

You cannot question the credibility of witnesses during your opening statement, but you may provide facts that help the jury to perceive your witnesses as dependable and as well as question the opposition’s dependability.

Example

Today, you will hear the testimony of Chief Forensic Analyst Dr. Aaron Dre. Dr. Dre has investigated hundreds of homicides and he is going to tell you that it would be nearly impossible for Martin Siriusz to have fired the fatal shot himself.

The defense will call on the testimony of behavioral psychologist Lee Vaughan Helm. Mr. Helm was paid $450.00 an hour to form an opinion of the cause of death by Heartfeldt Insurance Company, who is witholding payment on a life insurance policy taken out by Siriusz. He is also being paid $2,500.00 by the defense to appear in court today.

How can we be sure?

Details are important. The persuasiveness of your opening statement can be highly influenced by the details of the facts that you provide the jury. Provide some detail to go along with the facts you present to create a fuller picture for the jury.

Example

The defendant’s were covered in blood, but there was also something else on his hands that night: gun powder. The same kind of gun powder that was also present in the victim’s hair and on his shirt collar.

Does it all make sense?

The theory you present must make sense for the judge and jury to believe your arguments. A defense that relies on Martin’s death at the hands of a burglar, for instance, doesn’t make any sense at all with the facts of the case and would doom Mr. Osiski to years of jail time.

Present facts that support your theory as well as facts that discredit the theories likely to be put forth by your opponent.

Example

The prosecution will try to prove that anger motivated my client to kill Mr. Siriusz. Ask yourself one question: why would Thomas Osiski, on the brink of financial disaster, kill the one person in the world who could deliver him from this mess? How does it make any sense for my client to murder his only possible savior?

Briefly explain legal issues of the case

The prosecution should explain their burden of proof (“beyond a reasonable doubt” in criminal cases or “by a preponderance of the evidence” in a civil trial) and how they plan to meet that burden.

The defense should also explain the burden of proof and why the prosecution will be unable to fulfill that burden.

Example

The burden of proof in today’s trial rests on the prosecution. They will have to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that Thomas “Duke” Osiski is responsible for the death of Martin Siriusz. This means that at the end of this trial, when the prosecution has failed to erase doubt from your mind, you must find my client not guilty.

Other Tips

Include ONLY provable facts! Don’t promise what you can’t deliver during the examination phase of the trial. You can’t win a trial with your opening statement, but you can easily lose it by promising things you can’t deliver.

Be sure to include all of the facts pertinent to your theory, and only those facts. You don’t want to ramble (and time is of the essence).

Include references to the other side’s case, being careful to point out weaknesses in their case without being too argumentative.

If you are opening for the defense, be sure to leave yourself some room to adapt your statement based on statements the prosecution made in theirs.