Mock Trial Opening Statements for The Prosecutor.

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Mock Trial Opening Statements for The Prosecutor.

December 25, 2010 by mocktrialblahblahblah

Volunteering to present the opening statement for your mock trial team poses a challenge. It may mean that you are the first to speak in the entire competition. To review, let’s go over the order of a trial again. First the prosecutor gives an opening, then the defense, then the prosecutor calls her witnesses, the defense calls witnesses, the prosecutor does the closing argument, the defense closes, then the prosecutor gets to speak one more time in rebuttal. So if you volunteer to present the opening statement you will be speaking first. Until now, the jury will not have heard anything about your case. So the opening statement is an opportunity to outline the facts as you anticipate they will be presented. The opening statement is not really an opportunity to argue your case, but it is an opportunity for you to begin to convince the jury about the strength of your case, or the strength of your defense. Here is an outline of a real traditional prosecution opening statement:

Good morning, my name is ____ and I represent the State.
This is my opportunity to outline the evidence as I anticipate it will be presented.
I will call three witnesses.
The first witness will be so and so, and he will testify as to such and such.
The second witness will be so and so, and he will testify as to such and such.
The third witness will be so and so, and he will testify as to such and such.
At the conclusion of the case, we will ask you to convict the defendant of the crime as charged, thank you.

So that is basically how a prosecutor does an opening. It may take 3 minutes, or it may take 20 minutes based on how many witnesses you have and how thoroughly you cover the “such and such” of the expected testimony. In a mock trial, typically the prosecutor has 3 or 4 witnesses, and the time spent on an opening will be 5 minutes or less. The above outline is a real basic opening statement. To some it is a little bland, or formulaic, but in my job as a criminal defense lawyer, I do often see prosecutors deliver such openings. It basically gets the job done. And in a mock trial, that is often what a student lawyer is trying to do.

Now, students in a mock trial competition often want to know how to score the most points in an opening statement. First off, don’t read the opening. I wouldn’t try to memorize it either. Rather I would write out an outline of what you want to say, and then rehearse it 20 times. Usually this is hard for students to do; there is a tendency to try to memorize it, or to just read a pre-written statement. However, you will lose points if you read an opening. You just never see lawyers (even inexperienced one) do that in court.

Also, it seems like judges will score you on making good eye contact with the jurors, and delivering the opening with some level of feeling or emotion. The closing is more an opportunity for persuasion, but your opening should contain a little element of drama. Also, you will be judged on covering all the strongest points of your case. You could lose points by including facts that are later not covered. The best way to get good is to practice your opening statement in front of your classmates.

See also our new post on Tips for a Prosecution Opening.

Here is a sample opening statement from a fictional trial of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Posted in Uncategorized | 34 Comments

34 Responses

on January 31, 2011 at 6:23 am | Reply Mock Trial Opening Statements for the Defense Lawyer « Mock trial blah blah blah

[…] Comments « Mock Trial Opening Statements for The Prosecutor. […]
on February 28, 2012 at 1:32 pm | Reply jackie

The video and the article has helped me a lot. Thank you!
on February 28, 2012 at 3:53 pm | Reply mocktrialblahblahblah

Glad it helped. Thanks for visiting my mock trial site!
on March 1, 2012 at 9:44 am | Reply steven brown

it was very good and it helped me alot thank you very much
on March 2, 2012 at 4:30 pm | Reply mocktrialblahblahblah

Thanks Steven!
on March 13, 2012 at 8:50 pm | Reply Clarissa

Thank you for the examples of opening statements in mock trials. Maybe some ideas for how to overcome the butterflies in your stomach would be helpful. When I got up to speak, I had prepared a lot and read a lot of mock trial opening statement examples, but all my preparation kinda went out the window once I had to stand up and say it all in front of all my classmates!
on March 14, 2012 at 6:09 pm | Reply mocktrialblahblahblah

If you want to know how to write an opening statement for a mock trial, you can look at examples, but remember you will need to tailor your opening for the specific facts of your case. The best way to avoid getting nervous is to practice your opening in front of the mirror, and then practice it front of a friend, and then practice it in front of three friends, and then in front of the class a time or two. This takes time but there is simply no other way to get prepared. Looking at a mock trial opening statement example can help you know how to start off, and maybe end but everything that goes in the middle is up to you. Remember to listen to your teammates as to what important fact they feel need to be included. You can develop your own person style through looking at the works of others; there many types of an example of opening statement for mock trial, and you need to pick what feels natural for you.
on March 26, 2012 at 3:21 pm | Reply Willagean

thanks helped alot
on July 1, 2012 at 7:05 am | Reply Silvia

where can i find mock trial statement example at?
on July 8, 2012 at 11:42 am | Reply Ayo

wow, thans for this… i have a semi-scripted moot in 2 days time, and im playing prosecutor, this was really helpfull..
on July 19, 2012 at 3:40 am | Reply mocktrialblahblahblah

Thanks guys for coming by. Silvia, I would definitely look on YouTube for example of mock trial opening statements
on October 12, 2012 at 11:34 am | Reply MOCKTRIAL STINKS!!!

THIS SUCKED! BOO MOCKTRIAL
on December 14, 2012 at 7:43 pm | Reply Jelani

That as Helpful thanks 🙂
on January 23, 2013 at 12:16 pm | Reply Jackie

Very helpful indeed!
on February 14, 2013 at 3:18 pm | Reply sammy

Very Helpful!
on March 13, 2013 at 5:29 pm | Reply Elisabeth

How to you call the witnesses?
- on January 27, 2014 at 5:44 pm | Reply mocktrialblahblahblah
  
  Say: Your honor, the defense now calls so and so to the stand.
  - on May 26, 2021 at 7:58 am Em
    
    Do you say this as prosecutor or as a defense? Or does this work either way?
  - on December 26, 2021 at 10:19 pm mocktrialblahblahblah
    
    Just as a prosecutor
on October 7, 2013 at 8:35 am | Reply Kaylea ;)

thank you… now i feel even more stupid… 🙂 in a good way. ( cuz i didn’t already know that.)
on January 25, 2014 at 3:56 am | Reply ds

thanks for real
on January 25, 2014 at 9:39 pm | Reply Tiana

This is my first year in mock trial. I am a lawyer and i have to do the opening statement. I could really use some help and i wish i could see the video
- on December 8, 2015 at 5:37 pm | Reply eleanor
  
  how was your case?
on January 27, 2014 at 5:43 pm | Reply mocktrialblahblahblah

Yikes. Thanks Tiana. I will try to replace that link with a new video. Thanks for letting me know.
on February 25, 2014 at 10:03 am | Reply Craig

Please hurry!
I have the same problem as Tiana and I really could use some help.
Please tell me any hints/pointers you might have
on June 21, 2014 at 7:57 am | Reply titi

do you say you represent the state you live in or just the state
- on June 23, 2014 at 2:41 pm | Reply mocktrialblahblahblah
  
  Either way is good. Thanks for stopping by our blog. 🙂
on October 15, 2014 at 4:00 pm | Reply Anne-Marie

Thank you very much. This helped me a lot. I am doing the baby Lindbergh kidnapping case and it’s my first case! I really didn’t know much about trials, but this sure was an aid. Thanks!!!
on November 16, 2015 at 5:22 pm | Reply Anonyms

I don’t really get all of it but thanks anyways most of it I did understand which really helped alot!☺😀
on November 22, 2015 at 12:26 pm | Reply Susan Prickford

Hey! As an aspiring prosecutor these videos and posts have really helped me a lot! They are super informative! Appreciate it!
on December 8, 2015 at 4:45 pm | Reply eleanor

Thanks so much i am just starting middle school and im in the magnet classes! my law teacher at school is having us do a mock trial and i was very stuck! this helped me to understand what i was doing.
- on December 9, 2015 at 2:05 pm | Reply mocktrialblahblahblah
  
  Thanks, Eleanor!
on January 5, 2016 at 12:41 pm | Reply Jacob

im a prosecuter in a mock trial at school and this really helped.
on September 17, 2018 at 4:25 am | Reply Keke

Thanks ths really helped me a lot..