Opening Statement

• Author: Kenneth P. Nolan
• Pages: 77-82

Opening Statement

77

A skeptical jury awaits. Citizens, bored and a touch angry, sit

silently as the judge drones on. They glance around the dreary court-

room, at the sallow walls, the cynical clerk, the few spectators. They

want to connect the bits and pieces heard in jury selection. They

want action and suspense, like in the movies.

Then the judge peers over her glasses, mumbles your name and

other words you don’t hear as your mind races and your hands

tremble. You jerk your head from your notes, breathe deeply, and

suddenly you’re focused. You stand, thank the court, nod at your

adversaries, stride to the podium, adjust your notes, and pause. All

eyes focus on you and, with a slight smile, you look those cal-

loused jurors in the eye, and with a clear, crisp voice, you begin.

It’s time to tell your story—to be thorough and logical, to detail

the facts, touch on the law, persuade the jury that you should and

will win. After all, people say studies show juries decide immedi-

ately after opening, so, if you flub it, confuse, hesitate, or are not

convincing, you’ll lose them and probably the case.

The opening is what you’ve been anticipating. It’s an opportu-

nity to teach, to explain, to introduce your client and case, to de-

scribe the suffering, to appeal to the jury’s intelligence, sense of

fairness, and to tug, just a little, on their emotions. It’s a chance to

argue in such a reasoned, compelling manner that the case is over

before the dopey defendants’ attorneys utter a word.