Trial Practice | Environmental and Toxic Tort Defense Insight

Effective Use Of Rhetorical Questions In Jury Summation

By admin on February 26, 2014

The art of persuasion comes in many forms. Recently, we wrote an article about the plaintiff bar’s embrace of Reptile theory. The Reptile theory asserts that you can prevail at trial by speaking to, and scaring, the primitive part of jurors’ brains. However, good trial counsel can effectively utilize more traditional forms of persuasion in their summations. Trial counsel do not need to bring reptilian logic into the courtroom when they can rely on oratorical techniques that have effectively swayed audiences for centuries. Just consider Shakespeare’s use of rhetorical questions in Marc Anthony’s funeral oration in Julius Caesar, which turned mourners into an angry mob.

In an excellent article titled, “Case for the Rhetorical Question as a Summation Technique,” which appeared in the New York Law Journal on February 26, 2014, plaintiff lawyers Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan demonstrate how the use of rhetorical questions can be effectively used during jury summation to reiterate and reinforce important parts of the plaintiff’s case. As the authors discuss, the use of rhetorical questions can be used with equal effectiveness by the defense, which of course is the raison d’être of this blog.

Rubinowitz and Torgan emphasize that trial counsel should always consider the language in the New York Pattern Jury Instructions before devising a rhetorical line of questions for use in summation. These instructions not only serve as a guide for the jury, but allows trial attorneys to create powerful arguments that fit neatly into those instructions.

In their article, the authors demonstrate the use of rhetorical questions: (1) when the defendant fails to call its expert examining physician to the witness stand; (2) when a party fails to call an important witness; or (3) in the case of spoliation of evidence.

For example, following is an illustation of their use of rhetorical questions during summation where key evidence has been lost or destroyed:

Ladies and gentlemen, there is one piece of evidence that is more important than any other piece of evidence in this case. You heard about that piece of evidence from the beginning of this case – from the opening statements forward. And you now know how important that piece of evidence is. You know that it would answer the most important question in this case. So ask yourselves, why wasn’t it produced? Why haven’t you been allowed to see that [piece of evidence]? Where is it? And why has it been kept from you? The answer is clear. It wasn’t produced for one reason and only one reason. If it was produced it would have made plaintiff’s claims meaningless. If it was produced it would have destroyed plaintiff’s arguments. And if it was produced it would have destroyed his case!

The hallmark of Rubinowitz/Torgan articles on trial practice is their effectiveness in providing the “buildup” or “setup” that practitioners can use in various phases of trial practice. Rubinowitz and Torgan teach us that it is not only springing the trap that matters, but the patient preparation that makes springing the trap all the more delicious! Shakespeare would be proud.

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Excluding Prejudicial Demonstrative Exhibits At Trial

By admin on January 9, 2013

Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence governs the admissibility of demonstrative evidence at trial, assuming that evidence is determined to be relevant under Rule 401. Pursuant to Rule 403, a demonstrative exhibit may be excluded from the courtroom if its probative value is substantially outweighed by its unfair prejudice, its cumulative nature or if it is confusing or misleading.

Does the exhibit (1) relate to a piece of admissible substantive proof; (2) fairly and accurately reflect that substantive proof; and (3) is it sufficiently explanatory or illustrative to assist the jury? These are the questions used to establish a proper foundation for use at trial.

In addition, the exhibit should convey what it is designed to convey. For example, a computer enhanced photograph should not make an accident scene look better or worse than it actually was. Similarly, the demonstrative evidence should convey representational accuracy. The scale, dimensions and contours of the underlying evidence should all be accurately depicted.
Today more than ever, the creative use of software permits trial counsel to manipulate demonstrative exhibits in ways often difficult to spot.

In an excellent article titled, “5 Demonstrative Evidence Tricks and Cheats to Watch Out For,” Ken Lopez, fouinder of A2L Consulting, provides a useful guide for spotting misleading charts and explains why they are misleading. Lopez discusses five such tricks (which are somewhat difficult to convey without having all of the graphics Lopez uses in his article to illustrate his points):

1. The Slippery Scale. This trick involves setting the the vertical y-axis on a graph in a narrow range that does not include “0.” By not including “0,” it is easy to make a relatively small change look enormous.

2. Compared to what? If the trial lawyer seeks to demonstrate a small change on a percentage basis, all he needs to do is carry the horizontal x-axis so that time is literally “on his side”

3. The Percentage Increase Trick. How many times have you heard someone talk about a 200% or 300% increase and really wonder what they mean?

4. Tricking the Eye with 3D Charts. Flat charts with no depth or 3D aspect are harder to trick the viewer with, so always scrutinize your opponent’s charts when a third dimension is introduced. On a pie chart, when a slice of the pie (e.g., the percentage of customers injured by a purportedly defective product) is closer to the viewer, it looks much bigger.

5. Misleading Emotional Imagery. Putting an image of a homeless person in the background of a chart about increasing homelessness is designed to evoke emotion. Similarly, showing an oil-covered bird in the background in an explanation of how much oil was spilled in an accident does not add to one’s understanding of the amount of oil spilled, but seeks to trigger an emotional response in the viewer.

Perhaps the single most important Rule 403 objection you can make in a jury trial is the exhibit’s capacity to generate an emotional response such as pity, revulsion or contempt. Under these circumstances, the capacity to evoke emotion far outweighs the value of the evidence on the issues before the court and exclusion is appropriate.