Description

As a general matter, the closing arguments of the attorneys recapitulate the theories of each party and attempt to justify the inferences and conclusions that each feels should be drawn from the evidence. In almost all jurisdictions, the prosecutor argues first and defense counsel second. In some jurisdictions the prosecutor is always permitted to rebut and thereby have the last word; in other jurisdictions the prosecutor is permitted to rebut only if the defense has presented evidence. Some judges will permit surrebuttal argument by the defense when the prosecutor has obviously sandbagged and reserved most of his or her substantive arguments for rebuttal so as to deprive defense counsel of the opportunity to respond to those arguments. Counsel should be sure that s/he is familiar with the local rules concerning the order of closing. The shaping of the closing argument for the defense depends critically on whether the prosecutor will or will not have an opportunity for reply.

First Page

1850

Source Publication

Trial Manual 11 for the Defense of Criminal Cases

Source Editors/Authors

Anthony G. Amsterdam, Randy A. Hertz

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Chapter

Edition

11

Rights & Restrictions

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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