It is often tempting to rip into opposing counsel, or
disparage his/her client in emotionally charged vitriolic words, yet such an
approach rarely wins over jurors. Sure, you have the shock value of a momentary
deer-in-the-headlights stunned witness or a knee-jerk angry riposte from
opposing counsel, but in the long run, that’s not what convinces jurors.
Jury studies systematically show that jurors tend to be
highly critical and disapproving of such tactics. One time during trial, no
problem. More than that, jurors will turn on the offending attorney. Over-aggressiveness
has repeatedly been pointed out in jury debriefings as an advocate’s most
common flaw.
This is not to say you must turn into Mr./Ms. Meek, not at
all. It simply means that you persuade jurors more with positive arguments,
such as appealing to devotion to an ideal, or the well-being of the community
at large, or the importance of justice. These can be expressed with great vigor
and emotional commitment, as long as you are sincere in your delivery.
Conviction in the name of a righteous cause is what wins
jurors over, not slash-and-burn verbal onslaughts.
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Read my latest article, "Managing the Angry Client
101" in the September issue of Plaintiff
magazine. Click here.
