Canadian Criminal Trial Advocacy/Closing Arguments

The Closing Argument is portion of the trial where counsel can present and explain the reason why the trier-of-fact should decide in their favour. Effective Argumentation Justice Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court lists 16 rules of argumentation before a judge in his book "Making your case: The art of persuading judges": Be sure the court has jurisdiction know your audience Know your case Know your adversary's case Pay attentions to the standard of decision Never overstate your case. Be scrupulously accurate Occupy the most defensible terrain Yield indefensible terrain Take Pains to select the best arguments Communicate clearly and concisely Appeal not just to rules but also common sense When you must rely on fairness to modify the strict application of the law, identify some jurisprudential maxim that supports you Reason is paramount and that overt appeal to emotions is resented Assume a posture of respective intellectual equality with the bench Maintain your emotions and do not accuse Close in a powerful way and say explicitly what you want the court to do