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Teaching Your Client How to Mind Their Manners While on the Stand
It costs you nothing to be a gentleman or lady. However, a lack of civility can be very costly. The manner in which a witness or party testifies is critical to their credibility and understandability to the jury. You want witnesses to testify in a natural manner, but they need to be understood and well… →
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Witness Preparation… You only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Yes, appearance does count! I’m always amazed when witnesses or parties appear in court and are dressed like they’re going to be working in their yard or are going to a dive bar. First impressions are lasting impressions. Before your client or witness says a word the jury or judge will be sizing them up… →
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Closing Argument – Shelving Some Good Ideas
What are some other resources I should consult? Here is a list of books dealing directly with closing arguments that should offer both guidance and inspiration: Polarizing the Case: Exposing and Defeating the Malingering Myth by Rick Friedman: This book provides an innovative approach to trying cases. Too often we allow the defense in personal-injury… →
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The Million Dollar Question: How Much Should I Ask For?
There is no set rule. I would recommend that you play it by ear. If you have a case that is clearly worth a good deal of money, give the jury guidance as to how you calculated damages by breaking down each separate category covered in the jury instruction on damages and assigning a number to it.… →
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The “Dos” and “Don’ts” of Closing Arguments
What are some common “Dos” and “Don’ts” when it comes to closing argument? Here is a list I put together: Do: Speak loud and clearly. Be confident. Vary your tone and location as you move from point to point. Be organized. Begin and end on a high note so your points will be remembered.… →
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Closing Argument – What to Do When Your Opponent Deals from the Bottom of the Deck
It is important to stick with the argument that you’ve planned out. Then aggressively and positively put forward your case. You don’t want to waste too much time responding to the other side’s argument to the detriment of their own. You want to help the jurors reach their own conclusions about the case with the use… →
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Puzzled Jurors? Piecing it Together for the Jury…
Your job is to help the jury see how the jury instructions apply to the evidence and that you’ve proven the essential elements of your claim, covering the essential facts and promises you made in your opening statement. You want to check your story provided to the jury in opening statement and show how various… →
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Burden of Proof, David Ball on Damages 3, Gerry Spence, Jury Forms, Jury Verdict Size, Moe Levine, Only Chance to Recover Damages, Pain & Suffering, Polarizing the Case: Exposing and Defeating the Malingering Myth, Pre-Existing Conditions, Redistributing Wealth, Speak like Churchill Stand Like Lincoln, Sympathy and Vengeance, The Whole Man Argument, Theater Tips and Strategies for Jury Trials/
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A Recipe for an Effective Closing Argument
Below is a summary of some thoughts dealing with closing arguments which I would like to share. Like a good meal, a closing argument is something which requires careful preparation and a judicious mix of ingredients in the appropriate quantities. Below is my recipe for an effective closing argument. Goals While it may seem… →
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What the Post Hoc?
The Post Hoc fallacy derives its name from the Latin phrase “Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.” This has been traditionally interpreted as meaning “After this, therefore because of this.” This fallacy is committed when it is concluded that one event causes another simply because the proposed cause occurred before the proposed effect. This is the very reason… →
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Shutting Off the Defense Doctor’s Flood of Misinformation
In my last post, I discussed an analogy to deal with tactics used by your opponent to muddy the waters. Well, the problem is you have to drag the hogs out of the spring waters and it takes time to clear matters up. What if you could keep them out of the water altogether? Have… →
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Character Assassination and the Mud Springs
An ad hominem attack is a tactic whereby you attack the man instead of the validity of his argument or position. The fallacy of such an attack is that it completely ignores what is really important… Is the argument logical and accurate. Character assassination is an old tactic used to win battles whether… →
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Closing Argument: How to Combat Guilt by Association
Oftentimes, we have clients who through no fault of their own grow up in difficult circumstances or are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The opposing attorney may try to paint your client as less than worthy in the eyes of the law. However, remember that lady justice holds the scales of… →
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Looking Good and the Art of Cross-Examination
Cross-examination is the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth. You can do anything with a bayonet except sit on it. A lawyer can do anything with cross-examination if he is skillful enough not to impale his own cause upon it. – John Henry Wigmore There are a number strategies out there regarding… →
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Challenges to the Composition of the Jury Pool
A fox should not be on the jury at a goose’s trial. – – Thomas Fuller A right to trial by jury is guaranteed under both state and federal law. In a civil matter, a trial by jury is provided for under Article 1, Section 20 of, and the 7th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. … →
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Use of Peremptory Challenges and Preservation of Challenges for Cause
The great thing about our system of democracy is when they call you for jury duty, you have to come… It’s an honor and a privilege. I was called and I’ve got to be here. – – Antonio Villaraigosa Pursuant to Indiana’s long-standing rule, a claim of error arising from the denial of a challenge… →
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Use of Peremptory Challenges and the Improper Exclusion of Juors
Ending racial discrimination in jury selection can be accomplished only by eliminating peremptory challenges entirely. – – Thurgood Marshall Number of Peremptory Challenges: There’s no such thing as a free lunch and likewise, even the free strike of jurors provided by the use peremptory challenges is not its own costs and problems. However, there will be people… →
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The Problem of Juror Bias
“A jury verdict is the quotient of the prejudices of twelve people.” Kenneth Grubb, Attorney Anything I missed? Juror Bias is a difficult problem that must be ferreted out by the trial attorney in almost every trial. Quite honestly, this can not be effectively done without the cooperation of the jury. I will often close my… →
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Trials, Lies & Videotapes
“One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” – 1918 Newspaper Advertisement for the San Antonio Light. Often I look to my own law practice and find inspiration for a topic on trial advocacy. In preparation for an upcoming trial and mediation, I decided that a sprawling case involving boxes of documents, video interviews, audio recordings,… →
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Zen and the Art of Trial Advocacy
“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power… →
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