11.
Use themes. Find themes that relates to the elements of your case or
the characteristics of your
client
that arouse natural sympathy or coincide with universally admired
principles. It is especially
helpful
if you can come up with a clever title for your theme. E.g.,
a.
David and Goliath -- if you represent an individual against a large
corporation.
b.
Fighting city hall -- if you represent a person who has been the
victim of inflexible
policies
of government bureaucracies or the unreasonable decisions of faceless
officials.
c.
Caught in a sea of red tape -- if you represent a small business
trying to comply with
contradictory
and arbitrary regulations and laws.
d.
Law and order -- if your case is weak on sympathetic factors, but
your client's actions
were
legally justified.
12.
Use chronological order. It’s going to be hard enough for the jury
to follow your case without
you
jumping around from witness to witness, back and forth in time.
13.
Use illustrations. Long recitations of facts and information are
boring and hard to keep straight,
so
use both visual aids and literary allusions. Jurors may have trouble
envisioning what the crime
scene
looked like if your detective just describes it, but they’ll
remember the crime scene photos
(especially
if the corpse is still lying there). They may not remember all the
details of your argument
that
an opposing expert witness's opinions are purely subjective, but
they’ll remember the story of
Goldilocks
and the three bears. Anything that you can reduce to a drawing,
chart, or computer
simulation
should be presented that way.
14.
Use language carefully. Use words that personalize your witnesses and
depersonalize your
opponent's,
e.g., you represent Jackie Reynolds, organist at the First Methodist
Church, being sued by
some
doctor who got a dent in his Mercedes. Think whether what happened
was an accident, a wreck,
a
rear-end collision, or a melee. Note that what is important here is
the choice of noun, not adjective.
A
“horrible, tragic accident” is still just an accident.
15.
Be professional. Wear a dark suit. Be formal rather than informal.
Have good posture. Be
respectful
of others in the courtroom at all times, especially the judge and
jurors. Stand when the
judge
or jury enters or leaves the room. Address the judge as "your
honor" and all jurors and
witnesses
by their last names.
16.
Have a personality. This is not inconsistent with professionalism.
You can be professional and
courteous
of others without becoming a boring, wooden stick or a trial robot.
Tell a story, recite a
poem,
wear a rose in your lapel, and laugh when something funny happens. Be
human.
17.
Use as few notes as possible. This is not the same thing as using no
notes at all.
18.
Watch your voice. Your voice is important -- try to be a good actor.
Speak clearly. Vary your
pace,
pitch and loudness. Keep up the pace of your speech, without letting
it get so fast the jury
cannot
follow you. Slow, dull, monotonous speech is boring.
19.
Always remember that the case is about facts, not law. The jury
doesn’t care about the legal
technicalities,
and neither should you. A trial is about who did what to whom, why
did they do it,
what
happened, and why it is unjust.
20.
Always take the high road. Don’t take cheap shots. Don’t appeal
to racial or ethnic prejudice.
Avoid
sarcasm. Don’t attack the personal credibility of your opponent.
Try not to be rude, abrasive,
or
obnoxious.
21.
And never, ever, use a lectern. This isn’t an appellate argument.
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