"If It May Please the Court": Analyzing the Use of Rhetorical Elements in Courtroom Opening Statements

Abstract

Despite all of the research done on the influence of intertextuality, word choice, formatting, and the presentation of the speaker on opening statements in a courtroom, we still do not know which components of these statements are the most important, from a rhetorical perspective, for lower and appellate courts, respectively. My research studied opening statements from both lower and appellate court cases and simultaneously compared the aforementioned components in each. My analysis of these opening statements finds that categories which have been deemed important in existing discussions of opening statements are truly impactful, and yields some insight into what exactly makes each type of opening statement effective.