Jury Speech Rules shows trial lawyers that persuasive jury opening statements and closing arguments require imagination, story-telling skills, and a thorough knowledge of the legal and ethical rules that govern this important part of trial. Using famous historical cases and many useful examples, the authors demonstrate when things go wrong and when they are done right. Opening statements can present the important facts to the jury from the party's perspective, making the jurors receptive to the story that counsel intends to tell through the witnesses, documents, and visuals; well-constructed and well-delivered openings, which avoid improper argument, make an interesting introduction of the parties and the attorneys. Counsel can keep the other lawyer quiet by presenting an opening that provides no opportunity for interruption with objections. Closing arguments that can present inferences, arguments, and conclusions will help the jurors understand the significance of the facts that have been proven at trial; such arguments can explain the significance of expert testimony; they can point out logical errors in the opponents' stories; and they can win the jurors' by persuading them that the more interesting story—the more natural story, the story that fits their own experiences best—is the truthful story.

Jury Speech Rules shows trial lawyers that persuasive jury opening statements and closing arguments require imagination, story-telling skills, and a thorough knowledge of the legal and ethical rules that govern this important part of trial. Using famous historical cases and many useful examples, the authors demonstrate when things go wrong and when they are done right. Opening statements can present the important facts to the jury from the party's perspective, making the jurors receptive to the story that counsel intends to tell through the witnesses, documents, and visuals; well-constructed and well-delivered openings, which avoid improper argument, make an interesting introduction of the parties and the attorneys. Counsel can keep the other lawyer quiet by presenting an opening that provides no opportunity for interruption with objections. Closing arguments that can present inferences, arguments, and conclusions will help the jurors understand the significance of the facts that have been proven at trial; such arguments can explain the significance of expert testimony; they can point out logical errors in the opponents' stories; and they can win the jurors' by persuading them that the more interesting story—the more natural story, the story that fits their own experiences best—is the truthful story.

The American courtroom trial is a speech situation. Everything occurs through the spoken word. The 'summation', as speech event embedded within the trial, which is the chronological and psychological culmination of it, is one of the few opportunities for the lawyer to communicate directly with jurors. But the speech genre summation involves preliminaries as well as the event itself; and it can affect the aftermath of the trial, for the decisions of the jurors may be influenced by this discourse.This ethnographic study considers the summation from three perspectives: that of the producer, from the point of view of the ethnographer who observed and analyzed sixty-six actual summations and from that of the receivers of the speech event who must act upon it. Information was obtained from post-deliberation questionnaires completed by 223 jurors, plus 35 alternate jurors.

... The purpose of this handbook is to acquaint trial jurors with the general nature and importance of their role as jurors; explains some of the language and procedures used in court, and offers some suggestions helpful to jurors in performing their duty ...