As opposed to your opening statement which is not supposed to be argumentative. The closing argument can be argumentative. You argue your theory of the case. You argue your take on what the evidence means. You argue your take on the credibility of witnesses.
Closing Argument Auto Accident Cases-Contemporaneous Objections
If there is an objection to what is said in closing argument, there must be an objection made when it is said. Waiting 5 minutes later is not sufficient. Waiting 5 minutes later means the objection is waived.
Argument of course must have some factual basis. You can’t simply make up facts during your closing argument. What should be done is to recite what the facts are as stated by the witnesses and the exhibits that you offered. You then put your own spin on those facts.
There are a number of objections to be made in closing argument. Any attempt to apply the “golden rule” is not a proper argument. The “golden rule” tells the jury to put themselves into the shoes of the plaintiff. They are not supposed to do that. They are simply to apply an objective standard as to who, if anyone, is liable and if someone is liable, what did that fault on their part cause in terms of damages.
The personal belief of one of the attorneys is not relevant in closing argument. The case is not about what the attorney believes in or does not believe in. Likewise the attorney’s own experiences are not relevant.
Closing Arguments Auto Accident Cases-Objections in Closing Argument
If an objection is made in closing argument and the objection is granted i.e., sustained, you have a number of choices: (1) ask that the statement be stricken and that the jury be instructed accordingly; (2) move for a mistrial; (3) ask the court to admonish opposing counsel in front of the jury to not repeat any such statements.
In personal injury cases, a favorite argument of insurance defense lawyers is the 1% contributory negligence argument. That is, Virginia adheres to a doctrine known as “contributory negligence”. That doctrine says that if there is negligence on the part of the person bringing the claim, that may be a bar to the claim. The defense will argue that if that negligence constitutes 1% of the overall evidence, that may be a bar. That can be objected to. In fact, the evidence of negligence on the part of the plaintiff has to be substantial and the jury has to believe by the greater weight of the evidence that it is indeed a bar to the claim. All of that would suggest that it cannot be just 1%.
Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more info on closing argument see the Wikipedia pages. Also see the post on this site dealing with personal injury issues.
