Trial preparation treats jurors as an audience to be persuaded through staged presentation

Evidence

One manual for trial lawyers describes a jury trial as “a drama, with the jury the audience, the judge the critic (who delivers his reviews during, not after, each scene), and the witnesses the actors. The trial lawyer is the director, producer, and narrator. To reach your audience, you must view each element of the trial for its potential impact on the jury.” — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 850

Categorization

• SEED: The theater metaphor for trials could anchor an essay on legal advocacy as performance.
• SHARE: Worth sending to anyone teaching trial advocacy or rhetoric.
• XREF: connects to: Jurors form shared impressions in idle recess chatter long before deliberating — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action , 2332; Staging a trial means controlling what juries see of a client’s emotions — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action , 1700; The opening statement previews evidence and orients jurors to the issues before testimony begins. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1373 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Staging a trial means controlling what juries see of a client’s emotions #expands (0.88) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 1700
• Effective trial advocacy rests on narrative persuasion rather than legal argument alone #expands (0.85) — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 774
• Jurors form shared impressions in idle recess chatter long before deliberating #complicates (0.82) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2332
• The opening statement previews evidence and orients jurors to the issues before testimony begins. #exemplifies (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1373
• An audience watches a memorized argument with embarrassment rather than engagement #complicates (0.78) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2288
• Theater can physically coerce audiences into witnessing simulated atrocity #expands (0.74) — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 1501
• Capital trials are deliberately structured to let jurors avoid moral responsibility #qualifies (0.72)
• Trial lawyers mirror each other’s presence as strategic deterrence. #qualifies (0.71) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2320