Jury Trials - Opening Statements

Last week, I blogged about jury selection in Missouri personal injury trials and its importance. After jury selection, the next important thing in a jury trial, and the next event in the trial, is opening statements. Opening statements are when the parties tell the jury what the case is about. Particularly, the parties describe to the jury what the evidence will be throughout the trial. It's essentially an overview of what the case will be.

My practice in opening statements is to lay down what the rule of the case is and describe how the defendant broke the rule. I learned this from practice and study of other great trial lawyers. The technique is simply to state what people or companies are expected to do in situations such as your clients and how they didn't do that. For example, in a motor vehicle collision case involving a rear-end collision at a red light, I will tell the jury that people are expected to pay attention at all times and make sure you see what can be seen. If you fail to do that, and someone gets hurt, you are responsible for their injuries. I then describe how the defendant failed to keep a careful look-out and rear-ended my client.

The goal is to keep your rules simple; so simple that not even the defendant can disagree with it. Then describe to the jury how the evidence will show that the defendant violated the rule.

If you have a Missouri personal injury case and are concerned about having a jury trial, Contact our firm today.