SEE EXAMPLE AT BOTTOM (DO not COPY!)
The examples are approximately 600 words each and that's about how long yours should be.
If you are having a difficult time writing that much, do a closing argument, instead.
CLOSING ARGUMENT
1. Sum up your argument
What points did Cody make? How does that show motive, means, opportunity?
1)
2)
etc.
What points did Kripke make? How does that show motive, means, opportunity?
1)
2)
etc.
What points did Hobbes make? How does that show motive, means, opportunity?
1)
2)
etc.
2. Sum up the other side's argument and point out the weaknesses in their testimony (doubt)
What points did Beck try to make? Explain problems with their story and testimony
1)
2)
etc.
What points did Kripke try to make? Explain problems with their story and testimony
1)
2)
etc.
What points did Gracian try to make? Explain problems with their story and testimony
1)
2)
etc.
EXAMPLE 1:
Opening Statement
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, today you have been selected to participate in the trial of Martin vs Utah. This case is about a Beck Martin who had let his anger and fear get the better of him which lead to the murder of Anne Marcus on Sunday, June 8th, 2003 at Cottonwood Canyon in Salt City. It is your responsibility to vote guilty of Beck martin killing Anne Marcus. Today you will be hearing from three witnesses on the side of the prosecution. They are Cody Ward, Officer Loren Kripke, and Dr. Aidan Hobbes who paint a picture of how Beck Martin killed Anne Marcus.
Cody Ward was just a high school student at Salt City High School who had gone down the wrong path to maintain a perfect grade which lead to him reluctantly cheating on an exam with fellow classmate Beck Martin. Cody’s testimony proves that Beck Martin had the opportunity and motive to commit the murder of Anne Marcus. When Anne caught Cody and Beck cheating, Cody knew that he had to face the consequences since Anne could also get in trouble for not turning in Beck and Cody. Beck on the other called Anne and backstabber for “threatening” him. This Beck’s second offense so he knew that if Anne turned them in he would get an F in the class on his permanent transcript ruining his future and disappointing his parents who expect a lot out of Beck. All of this stress, fear, and anger built up enough to cause him to commit murder in an attempt to save his high school career. After Beck snapped at Anne and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt when Cody and Beck arrived at Cottonwood Canyon, Beck wanted to talk with Anne at the cove. Cody not wanting to be apart of Beck yelling at Anne left to go sit in his car which he arrived to at approximately 7:50pm. He waited until 9:00pm for Beck to come back from the Cove which he had been at for over an hour alone with Anne.
Dr.Aidan Hobbes, after doing an autopsy of Anne concluded that Anne was killed in that 70 minute time frame that Beck and Anne were alone. The autopsy showed that Anne Marcus was tied up with her climbing rope before being struck on the side of the head and perhaps knocked unconscious. It was after this assault that her body was thrown into the creek where she subsequently drowned.
Officer Loren Kripke who was assigned to this task. After learning that she was killed with a rock to her head, which only Hobbes and Kripke knew about at the time, conducted an investigation. After talking with Cody and hearing that he and Beck were at Cottonwood Canyon at the time of the murder and that Beck was alone with Anne for 70 minutes, Beck was called in for an interview. It was then that Beck had said how sad it was that Anne had hit her head and died almost immediately after sitting down with Kripke, which would’ve been impossible to know about because not even Anne’s parents knew how she died.
After putting all three testimonies together it shows a picture that Beck Martin had the opportunity of 70 minutes alone with Anne to commit the murder. He had the means to do it with a rock and his muscular physique from doing soccer and weights to kill. Also the motive to save his grades, future, and reputation in his family and community.Today it is your responsibility to vote guilty of Beck Martin for the murder of Anne Marcus.
EXAMPLE 2:
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, today we are deciding the fate of Beck Martin, the boy accused of murdering Anne Marcus. Each person must vote guilty, or not guilty. To vote guilty you must believe beyond reasonable doubt that he did, in fact, murder Anne Marcus. We will be interviewing the accused, Beck Martin, a high school student. Dr Sage Gracian, a retired coroner with a bachelors in biology and a coroner for over 20 years. Then finally ranger Dale Plotnick who has been a ranger for 14 years, and has known Beck for years.
Beck martin is just a high school student who made a mistake whilst trying to make his parents proud. According to beck he arrived back at Cody’s car at about 8:30, with no sign of Cody. Beck took a walk north, away from the scene of the crime, when he returned, so did Cody. When they first found Anne at the top of the cliff, the rock underneath her slipped and Beck stopped her from falling while Cody laughed. He clearly does not have intent for her to die, otherwise he would have just let her fall. Towards the end of his statement, Beck clearly states that he watched anne begin climbing again, then left the cove. Rock climbing alone can be dangerous, but when you do it at night too, it makes it much worse.
A major piece of evidence from Dr. Gracian that disproves the accused is that there was no rope at the scene of the crime. There wasn't even rope fibers on annes body left, as if she was tied up like D’r hobbes said. These lacerations could have been old, or a rope burn from climbing. This proves that she was in fact not bound up like Dr. Hobbes had stated. Dr. Gracian also stated that there is insufficient evidence to prove ‘her time of death is 8 or 8:30. Rigor mortis does not prove when she died, but it can give an estimate, but there are many variables that can change it. Beck said he found Cody sweating, why would an athlete be sweating from either a short run or walk unless it was warm outside. Rigor mortis is slower in the cold, but there's more evidence pointing to a warmer temperature so her body decomposed at a different rate, so she had to have died after they left.
Our last witness is ranger Dale Plotnik, he has been a ranger at the state park for 14 years and worked at cottonwood canyon for the last 3 years. Dale knows this area better than anyone else. Dale will occasionally see people climbing down the cove, but advise them against it because it's too dangerous, but when it's dark and you need to get home soon it can take too long to take the safe way back to your car. Anne must have decided to climb the cliff on her way back to save time and get away from Beck since they have been arguing. With Anne climbing a dangerous cliff at night its very easy to justify that she just fell. Dale plotnik had also seen what sounds like Cody walking back to the car from the back way to the cove, and what seemed like Beck returning to the car around the same time. Dale has also known Beck for years, he's known him from church since he was young. Beck consistently helps organize food drives and other charitable events. He has also stated that Beck has stopped many conflicts, he's gotten a community service award from the chamber of commerce for the work he has done.
In conclusion, we do not have enough evidence to convict Beck Martin for murder. You can't vote guilty unless you honestly believe, that beyond reasonable doubt, he did it. There is more evidence to keep him innocent rather than guilty. Dale has given many statements to prove what kind of person Beck is, and all the evidence from Dr. Gracian helps prove Becks case. Prosecution does not have sufficient evidence. The window of when all of this happened is too big, the ME did not find rope fibers on the wrist lacerations. The ME also determined the time of death in a 4 hour window, Beck is on his way back to the car in the first hour of this window. This leaves another 3 hours of unaccounted time when nobody has seen Anne, therefore we cannot say Beck is the reason she died. Officer Kripke seems to have a bias towards beck, he read him the miranda rights before even hearing his side of the story, so he already knew he was going to arrest him. Based on the evidence from prosecution and defence, we must vote not guilty. There simply is not enough evidence to say Beck Martin has murdered Anne Marcus
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