Examples of opening statements in court

In spite of all of the writing and seminars on the subject of opening statements, too many trial lawyers maintain a wrong and overly simplistic view of this important step in the trial.

Powerful opening statements

Prosecution opening statement examples

Opening statements examples

Great closing arguments examples

Defense opening statement examples pdf

Remember, the opening statement is the critical first impression with the jury about the case. Too many lawyers take the easy road of telling a chronological narrative is if it were a police report instead of a compelling emotional story.

Opening statements are important.

That’s when most jurors take sides and start telling a story about the case. We know that jurors don’t make judgments by abstract reasoning but according to their life experiences and whether the story fits their inner scripts of experience and values.

Famous opening statements in court

Practice reducing your case to a 30 second statement. That’s in order to clear out details that aren’t relevant. When you insert too many details the real story gets hidden in a swamp of useless information. When you practice reducing the case in that way, you