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Chapter 17 - § 17.4 • DISCRETION OF COURT TO CONTROL CLOSING ARGUMENTS
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➢ Limiting Amount of Time for Closing. "Limitation of time for argument is within the discretion of the trial court." People v. Rodriquez, 645 P.2d 857, 859 (Colo. App. 1982)....
➢ Both Sides Must Be Given Equal Opportunity to Submit a Closing Argument. Although it is error to not allow the opposing party the same chance to submit a summation in a trial to the court, the party complaining must show that the error was prejudicial. Poudre Valley Rural Electric v. Loveland, 807 P.2d 547, 557 (Colo. 1991).
➢ Limiting Scope of Closing Argument. The court may prohibit types of argument in closing in advance of argument. People v. Flanders, 516 P.2d 418, 419 (Colo. 1973).
➢ Judge Has Discretion to Set Scope of Closing Argument. "[T]he permissible scope of argument is a matter that lies within the sound discretion of the trial judge." Rennels v. Marble Prods., Inc., 486 P.2d 1058, 1061 (Colo. 1971) (standard is abuse of discretion). In the absence of a gross abuse of discretion to the prejudice of a party, the court's ruling will not be disturbed on review. People v. Alvarez, 530 P.2d 506, 507 (Colo. 1975); People v. Ferrell, 613 P.2d 324, 326 (Colo. 1980).
➢ Improper Arguments Are Best Assessed and Cured by the Trial Court. Claims of improper argument must be evaluated in the context of the argument as a whole and in light of the evidence before the jury. Such evaluations are best done by the trial court. People v. Coit, 961 P.2d 524, 530 (Colo. App. 1997); People v. Holloway, 973 P.2d 721, 724 (Colo. App. 1998); People v. Geisendorfer, 991 P.2d 308, 312 (Colo. App. 1999); People v. Rojas, 181 P.3d 1216 (Colo. App. 2008); People v. Gladney, 250 P.3d 762 (Colo. App. 2010).
➢ Improper Reference to Future Damages. Even though the court had held that there was no evidence of future damages, the court had the discretion to deny a motion for mistrial when an improper reference to such future damages was made during closing argument. Brown v. Kreuser, 560 P.2d 105, 108-09 (Colo. App. 1977).
➢ Court May Not Preclude Arguments That Are Based upon Admitted Evidence. The court erred when it prohibited the defendant from arguing his theory of the case, which was based on admitted evidence that was not objected to or stricken. People v. McGrath, 793 P.2d 664 (Colo. App. 1989); People v. Rhodus, 303 P.3d 109 (Colo. App. 2012).
➢ Discretion to Declare Mistrial When Victim Crying. The court did not abuse its
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- Chapter 17 Closing Argument
- Chapter 17 - CHAPTER 17 CLOSING ARGUMENT
- Chapter 17 - § 17.1 • TIMING OF CLOSING
- Chapter 17 - § 17.2 • OBJECTIONS
- Chapter 17 - § 17.3 • CURATIVE INSTRUCTIONS
- Chapter 17 - § 17.4 • DISCRETION OF COURT TO CONTROL CLOSING ARGUMENTS
- Chapter 17 - § 17.5 • ARGUING THE EVIDENCE AND THE REASONABLE INFERENCES
- Chapter 17 - § 17.6 • COUNSEL TESTIFYING — PERSONAL BELIEF
- Chapter 17 - § 17.7 • APPEALING TO PASSION AND PREJUDICE|INFLAMMATORY ATTACKS ON ADVERSE ATTORNEY
- Chapter 17 - § 17.8 • THE "GOLDEN RULE" ARGUMENT
- Chapter 17 - § 17.9 • USE OF TRIAL TRANSCRIPT
- Chapter 17 - § 17.10 • USE OF AND DEMONSTRATIVE EVIDENCE
- Chapter 17 - § 17.11 • INVITED ARGUMENT|COMMENT|REBUTTAL
- Chapter 17 - § 17.12 • STATEMENT ABOUT THE LAW
- Chapter 17 - § 17.13 • BINDING EFFECT OF ADMISSIONS IN CLOSING
- Chapter 17 - § 17.14 • PER DIEM — PAIN AND SUFFERING
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