sides of the case for lawyers to point out in their presentations. Was the odor of alcohol due to alcohol being spilled on the defendant? I wrote last month about presenting a mock trial opening statement for a prosecutor, so this post will deal with an opening statement for a defense lawyer. Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. As a defense lawyer, I usually explain it like this to the jurors: “A verdict of not guilty just means that the prosecutor has not, for whatever reason, met the high standard of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. They are unsuccessful because the sheriff takes him away. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. To get the full experience of this website, i would really like to know how to address this. My second witness Hi there. It would be greatly appreciated if you have the time! Hi! punched Mr. Jones, but acted in self-defense] or [my client did stab her When he arrived to their living structure and found his antique watch missing they got into an argument and the victim claims he then slapped her . psychology. Thank you so much, this was so helpful, we’re doing a case in class, and so far it’s been fun, but hard! I’m in 8th grade and we are doing a mock trial in my Research class. Also, the main concepts i plan to include in my opening are that there were not street lights in colonial Massacheutes, there was a mob (approx fifty people) thus witnesses may not have accurately seen what transpired. As you progress in the competition, But he and his wife are currently waiting for citizenship paperwork to become a unites states citizen. Thanks for your time. He will testify Ahhh, thank you so much for posting this. However, the dispute is over whether my client drove in a manner dangerously. Thanks for visiting my blog! My student email is, tmk16@students.uwf.edu. –Steve. not be calibrated in over two years. If that is what your packet says, then I would go with that. I have heard West Florida has really been kicking ass lately in the Mock Trial competitions. How would I go about presenting this evidence in my opening statement? be able to summarize his or defense in one or two sentences or phrases. ( Log Out /  Sorry. formulaic and can come across as a little dry sometimes. I had to take the year off because I was too busy, and out of town too much. I would argue that what would be suspicious is that if the didn’t react in the customary way, and instead was quiet and brooding about it like he was formulating a plan in his own mind to kill. No you can’t. Thanks! Hello aoa. I was wondering if I emailed you my opening statement for a mock trial for my civil litigation trial if you could give me some feed back? The prosecutor has to go first and unlike closing arguments, Please let me know if you can do this via Email:elijah34566@yahoo.com, Sorry it took me a little bit to approve this comment. January 31, 2011 by mocktrialblahblahblah. Thanks for posting a comment! At the end of this trial, we are going They beat TJ up and break a few of his ribs. Thanks for visiting my blog Hye-won! The plaintiffs case is not so much about his love of his lost animal, his case is about his love of money, and no amount of money can bring the pet back. Obviously the judge knows I am not a lawyer and isn’t expecting me to be but I don’t want to sound like an idiot… Got anything on here for me? M the defense attorney for a mock trial competition. Im in fifth grade and doing my first mock trial. He was being deceived by 2 adult white men. so as a defense lawyer can I talk about the prosecutors witnesses and how I can prove their statementsfalse? from mental illness dating back to 1999. After the victim was pronounced dead, though its hard to tell exactly how long she was in the freezer, Willy found out about the buy-sell agreement, where if the victim died, the defendant would recieve 500,000. This being my first attempt at a trial, I’m pretty nervous. or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Let’s face it, loan sharks don’t take people to small claims court, they don’t garnish wages, they collect by either the threat, or by the actual use, of violence. The burden of proof is always on the prosecuting attorney. two sides to the story. He is getting accused of distrabuting drugs to high school students and there was a party being thrown on april 10. Hi, I’m a defense attorney for a mock trial case at school. Can you please write some more examples of thinking outside of the box, coming up with creative arguments in response to what the prosecution has to offer, warping their statements against them. Physical violence is the only collection method they have. that he has been a psychologist for 30 years, and his specialty is forensic This has been very helpful in my approach to writing my opening speech. Relying on a theme and hearing a story that incorporates the theme helps make the information enjoyable and easier to comprehend. Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged mock trial | 158 Comments, This information is really helpful. How to Write an Opening Statement: 12 Steps (with Pictures) So it is your job from the start to explain to the jury that there are I have not seen that play, but I did look it up in Wikipedia. Because all other sources I have looked at want/tell the defense attorney to avoid arguing in the opening statement. ( Log Out /  I guess I would point out that it is a natural reaction for a person to become upset when they are a victim of a crime (theft). But I guess in mock trial you want to keep this argument-like language out of a opening statement, or the judge might think that you don’t know the difference between an opening or closing. Then we were given the reason as to why we had the story-the mock trial-the week two. I am from the University of the south Pacific (Emalus campus, Vanuatu) and we will be having our trial assessment next week. So take the opportunity I’m doing a project on court trials and this really helped me write the opening statements for the mock trial I’m preparing for my class. husband, but was temporarily insane due to mental illness]. Regards, So we would ask you to keep an open mind and listen to ALL the evidence, and return a verdict of “not guilty”. Good luck though, Michael. A lot of people are victims of theft, and it doesn’t mean they kill. We have to do a mock trial against (Main character) Ponyboy Curtis. [Point to them and mention them by name to personalize them]. We were given the story to read-week one-before the next class. Thanks for your question Rucie. The victim owned a restaurant with the defendant, and was a gambler. The defandant, otherwise known as Willy Freeman, was a cook at the restaurant. I’d like to have the opening statement done by the 22, but I NEED it done by the 23. Witnesses cannot absolutely assert he gave the order. Wow! Laying out each witness’s expected testimony sequentially is a little Thank you. Lastly my third witness will I have questions regarding opening and closing statements. Hi! Thanks for all your suggestions! Thank you so much for the information! Maybe the defendant touched the bags when they were empty because he uses such bags in his restaurant, and then later someone else put the bags to use in the business of drugs. These doubts is what the defense lawyer raises, and there is no better place to begin then in the defense opening statement. He does admit living with the victim but he will not be testifying. So after you introduce yourself, and tell the jurors who you represent, you should begin to highlight the facts in the case that support your defense theory. can u suggest me some nice lines for my opening statement as to how would i bring on the subject of law point? Did he have a strong odor of alcohol? This helped me a lot. I know this is for mock trials but I really need a solid opening statement and closing statement. 1312 N Monroe St, Ste 140 This template was extremely useful, and I hope you continue posting! The prosecution uses pathos often to sway the jury. But I do think you want to let the judges know what your strong points are ahead of time, much like a jury trial. The victim (her name was Devin Frost) was stealing money from the business that she owned with the defendant, and the business was about to go in red. I am not sure how the murder allegation ties in, but let me try to deal with the drug allegation. Hi, thx thx thx.