In all debates the proponent has
the right of opening and closing. The plaintiff began the case with
his opening, and after it is over he is permitted to close.
"Gentlemen," says the judge, "how long will you take in your address?"
Both sides agree upon a certain time, which usually proves too short,
but which is acquiesced in with alacrity because each side thinks
their case is so plain and convincing that it will not be difficult to
explain. The lawyer girds up his loins, the court-room quiets, the
struggle of conflicting evidence is over, the clients and witnesses
retire from the foreground, the other counsel sits down and the lawyer
steps close to the jury-box.
"The jury is yours," says the judge, as though he were abandoning the
jury. Indeed the summing up is an attack, a vivid, keen, masterly
struggle in which wit and brain is pitted against wit and brain: where
facts and passions are to be marshalled in the most intelligent and
plausible way, where imagination and oratory are to be employed in
their finest capacities. It may be bold, manly, energetic, or soft and
persuasive; it may appeal to sympathy or threaten with a battery of
accumulated facts. Forensic oratory is the highest type of art, the
most powerful of human gifts.
Pages:
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156