ILLINOIS STATE APPELLATE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICESEPTEMBER 2012 TRAINING

Bill Elward

Chief Criminal Prosecution Trials Assistance Bureau, Illinois Attorney General’s Office

Suggestions for Closing argument

  1. The Effective Closing Argument—start early
  1. Start every case with closing file
  2. Read jury instructions
  3. Identify themes, theories, good facts, bad facts
  4. Identify exhibits
  5. Thumbnail descriptions of witnesses
  6. Practice on non-lawyers—elevator pitch
  1. Jury instructions
  1. Identify elements of case
  2. Create proof chart for all elements
  1. Burglary proven by witness Watkins seeing Defendant breaking in victim’s house
  2. Defendant had proceeds two hours later
  3. Sold at pawn shop
  4. Sold jewelry to support drug habit
  5. Photos exhibits evidence
  1. Use jury instructions as the structure of your discussion
  1. Credibility of witnesses
  1. Memorize this instruction
  2. Only you are the judges of the credibility of the witnesses
  3. Figure out why the jury should believe your witnesses
  4. Bias, interest, sensory defect, character, convictions, prior inconsistent statements
  5. Recall direct exam of your witnesses
  6. How they were corroborated by other witnesses, facts
  7. Cross of your witnesses
  8. Blame your opponent for all bad witnesses—he picked this cast we didn’t
  9. His witnesses, alibi, false statement
  10. Review your cross examination
  11. Demeanor of witnesses—take notes
  1. Wave the Flag
  1. Country governed by rule of law
  2. Jurors are officers of the court
  3. Remind them of their oath, solemn vow to apply the law
  4. No room for sympathy or prejudice
  5. Follow the law and…
  1. Prayer for Relief
  1. What you want them to do
  2. What the evidence commands them to do
  3. What the defendant’s behavior dictates
  4. Sign the verdict—show them the correct verdict and tell them to sign it
  1. Style, Delivery
  1. Be yourself
  2. Be passionate about your case—if you don’t care they won’t care
  3. Use strong vivid language—look for metaphors, descriptions, juxtapose what humans would do in the same setting versus what the Defendant did
  4. Put the defendant in the active voice
  5. Catalog the decisions he made, choices he was faced with
  6. Move around the courtroom to signal new topics, move with design—you’re in control
  7. Don’t read, don’t look down, don’t use the same tone throughout—use volume cadence silence to persuade
  1. ABC= Always be closing
  1. Do not repeat the facts—tell us what the facts mean or pose rhetorical question
  2. We know he is guilty—isolate the Defendant as to the other
  3. Do not thank the jury till their job is done—they need to go to work and find him guilty
  4. Recall quotes from jury selection
  5. Pitch different parts of closing argument to different jurors
  6. Look at all of them—believe in your case—it’s infectious

HThings to Avoid

i.The Defendant has no burden—don’t say he hasn’t proven anything

iiDon’t comment on Defendant’s silence—mistrial!

iii.Don’t characterize the Defendant as an animal—tell t he jury what he did

ivDon’t say the word “I” or mine or me

  1. Don’t violate the Golden Rule—asking the jury to put themselves in the place of the victim—don’t do it directly, but your job is for the jury to feel that terror

END STRONG

Return to your theme—opening statement

Remind them of a call to justice

Tell them what justice demands