Prosecution opening statement examples

INTRODUCTION:

Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my name is so-and-so, and I together with my colleagues, represent the defendant Mr.

so-and-so. [Point to them and mention them by name to personalize them]. The defendant stands here today wrongly accused of the crime of [murder, drug possession, assault, etc], a very serious offense.

Opening statement defense example

At the end of this trial, we are going to ask you to render a verdict of not guilty, the only appropriate verdict in this case.

THE THEME:

Members of the jury, this case is of [mistaken identity] or [My client punched Mr.

Jones, but acted in self-defense] or [my client did stab her husband, but was temporarily insane due to mental illness]. [There are a limited number of defenses to a criminal charge in a court of law. I cannot list them all here, but a defense lawyer should always be able to summarize his or defense in one or two sentences or phrase