The Legal Do’s and Don'ts of Closing Arguments

The fundamentals of a good closing argument are mostly strategic and rhetorical, being designed to convince a properly-skeptical jury to come to the right conclusion on the facts.  But, naturally, the law plays an important role in determining what may argued – and how it may be argued.  This presentation will emphasize the two “do’s” of a proper closing argument, and, at the same time, will discuss a number of the “don’ts”, which will allow prosecutors to avoid the most-common land mines that can lead to objection during closing argument, including the highly-improper “don’t” of commenting on the defendant’s silence during trial. Items of discussion will include:

A.  Purposes of Closing Argument

B.  Two “Do’s” – wide latitude in commenting on evidence and reasonable inferences arising therefrom

C.  Many “Don’ts” – forbidden topics, avoiding emotionalism, unfair arguments, not supported by record

D.  Going through the Opened Door -- “Don’t” Get Baited

E.  Conclusion