 Gerry Spence on Opening Statements: "Telling Our Story--The Opening Statement," in Gerry Spence, Win Your Case 129-148 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005)
 "I know no rule of law that says the opening statement must be brief, although it should fairly state what the intended proof will be. . . . If the story is complicated, there is no better place to explain it and to make it understandable than in the opening statement." [Spence, Win Your Case, at 136]["When a long, detailed opening is given, the risk is that we'll make representations that we'll fail to prove during the trial, so that during final argument our opponent will take our overstatements and shove them into dark and painful places. Still, in balance, I favor the longer, detailed story. The jury is still relatively fresh. They are eager to hear our side of the case, and we must remember that the opening is our first opportunity to establish the justice of our case in the minds of the jury." Id. at 137]
Opening Statements
Opening Statement as Storytelling
[Stephen C. Rench]
Tell Your Story Through Opening Statement
Opening Statements: The Art of Storytelling
[Gerald Reading Powell, Professor of Evidence, Baylor Law School]
Attorneys' Uses of Storytelling During Opening Statements
[Lauren Thorne, Clemson University]
What Your Opening Statement Should and Should Do
[Professor Steven H. Goldberg, Pace Law School]
Draw Them a Picture
[Dr. Noelle Nelson]
Ten Points in Making an Effective Opening Statement
[Douglass F. Noland]
Opening Statements: Beginning, Middle, End
[Douglass F. Noland]
Effective Opening Statements
[Karen Turner McWilliams & Elisha A. King]
Opening Statement
[Marilyn Bednarski, The Wisconsin Defender]
Opening Statements
[Edgar Eliott, IV]
On Opening Statements
[Mazzone & Markwell,
Everett, Washington]
Opening Statements: You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
[Jeff Kearney]
Winning Techniques from the Beginning: Opening Statement
[John Elliott Leighton]
Using Themes at Trials
[Carol L. Gillam]
Opening Statement in Criminal Cases
[Ray Moses, Center for Criminal Justice Advocacy]
Opening Statements
[Winning Trial Advocacy Techniques blog]
Opening Statements
The Fundamentals of Opening Statements
[Training Handout, North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys]
Counter Jury Bias in the Opening Statement
[Barry W. Walker, Trial]
Videos
Prosecutor's Opening Statement: The Nuremberg Trial
[Justice Robert H. Jackson, International Military Tribunal, 1946]
Mock Opening Statement: Voluntary Manslaughter
Prosecutor's Opening Statement in the LaBarre Trial (Insanity Defense)
[Defense Opening Statement]
[News Accounts: Sheila LaBarre Trial Begins -- LaBarre Admits State Can Convict Of Two Killings -- Searching For Sheila's Missing Man -- LaBarre Undergoes Third Psychiatric Evaluation] [Sister Describes LaBarre's Stay At Hospital] [LaBarre's Sister Testifies About Father's Abuse] [LaBarre Thought She Was Reincarnated Witch] [LaBarre's Ideas "Outlandish"] [Psychiatrist Explains "Rabbit Or Pedophile" Comment] [On Progression Of Deteriorating Mental State]
News Account: Opening Statement in Fred Russell Trial (Vehicular Homicide) -- Jury Selection in the Case -- Victims' families ready for Russell to face justice -- Raw: Voicemail left at Russell home after fatal crash -- Collision survivor testifies in Russell trial -- Russell's fate in jury's hands -- Jury ends first day of deliberations at Russell trial -- Russell Convicted
News Account: Opening Statements in Clifford Helm Trial (Vehicular Homicide) -- July Selection in the Case -- Wife defends husband at vehicular homicide trial
Mom facing vehicular homicide charge for baby's death
Prosecutor's Opening Statement in the Craig Miller False Statements Trial -- Defense Opening Statement
Prosecutor's Opening Statement in a Murder Trial
Defense Counsel (Paul Griffin) Opening Statement in a Murder Case
Murder Trial Opening Statement
Arthur Kirkland's Opening Statement in "And Justice For All"
Bibliography: Books
Joel J. Seidemann, In The Interest of Justice: Great Opening and Closing Arguments of the Last 100 Year (New York: Regan Books, 2004)
Bibliography: Articles
L. Timothy Perrin, From O.J. to McVeigh: The Use of Argument in the Opening Statement, 48 Emory L. J. 107 (1999)
Tom Riley, The Opening Statement: Winning at the Outset, 3 Am. J. Trial Advoc. 225 (1979)
R.H. Snedaker, Storytelling in Opening Statements, 10 Amer. J. Trial Advoc. 15 (1987)
Shelley C. Spiecker & Debra L. Worthington, The Influence of Opening Statement/Closing Argument Organizational Strategy on Juror Verdict and Damage Awards, 27 Law & Hum. Beh. 437 (2003)
Return to: Homepage
Contact Professor Elkins  by Email
|