§ 3.07 KEY POINTS

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 3.07. KEY POINTS

Trial order. Evidence is first presented in the plaintiff (prosecution) case-in-chief, which is followed by the defense case-in-chief, plaintiff rebuttal, and defense surrebutal. The judge has the discretionary authority to alter this scheme — e.g., permit (1) a witness to testify out of order, (2) a witness to be recalled, or (3) a party to reopen its case.

Rebuttal and surrebuttal. Rebuttal is usually confined to refutation of evidence introduced in the defense case-in-chief, and surrebuttal is similarly confined to refutation of evidence admitted during rebuttal.

Closing arguments. Final arguments typically involve three...