First Words, Final Verdicts: Mastering Opening Statements and Closing Arguments in Child Abuse Cases
This intensive session focuses on mastering opening statements and closing arguments in child abuse jury trials. Participants learn to anchor the child’s narrative, build credibility through corroboration, and preempt common defense themes from first word to final plea.
Suggested Audience: Prosecutors
Full Description: This intensive session focuses on mastering the execution of the trial's most critical bookends: the initial and final addresses to the jury, specifically in the difficult context of child abuse jury trials.
Participants will learn to craft a persuasive architecture for the facts that resonates with jurors from the opening statement through the final plea. We will delve into advanced techniques for anchoring the child victim's narrative, building lines of argumentation designed to highlight corroboration of their testimony and establish credibility.
Furthermore, prosecutors will gain practical mastery in proactively identifying and dismantling the most frequent defense tactics and counter-narratives encountered in complex child abuse matters.
Learning Objectives:
Construct persuasive evidence-conforming narratives for the opening statement and closing argument.
Formulate dynamic arguments to establish the credibility of child victims and vulnerable witnesses.
Implement proactive techniques for anticipating, identifying, and defeating common defense tactics.
Speaker(s): Kathleen Nolan
