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Trying Cases to Win: Voir Dire & Opening Argument
Voir Dire and Opening Argument. Volume I, Trying Cases to Win. Description (3900 characters maximum): Originally published: New York: Aspen Publishers, 1991. Reprinted 2013 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. xv, 685 pp. The trial process is the sum of its parts-opening argument, direct and cross examination, and summation. In Trying Cases to Win, nationally known trial lawyer Herbert J. Stern provides an overall blueprint for conduct in the courtroom as he guides the reader through each of these segments. Rather than a collection of anecdotal war stories from various trials, Stern outlines the nuts and bolts of the right-and wrong-approach, processes and strategies for every component needed for trial success. Each volume is also available separately.
In this volume, Voir Dire and Opening Argument, Stern describes tactics for the voir dire process and the construction and delivery of a successful opening to lay the foundation for the overall argument.
Contents:
1. Introduction;
2. Rule I: Personal Advocacy;
3. Rule II: One Central Theme;
4. Rule II: Make the Case Bigger than its Facts;
5. The Four Laws: Primacy, Recency, Frequency and Vividness;
6. Opening Argument-Not Opening Statement;
7. Problems to Confront in Openings;
8. The Form of the Opening;
9. Final Considerations for Opening;
10. Edward Bennett Williams Opens;
11. Openings in Nonjury Trials;
12. Applications of the Principles to a Case;
13. The Colonial Pipeline Case;
14. Jury Voir Dire;
15. Voir Dire in Two Actual Cases;
16. Conclusion,
Appendix A: United States v. Weber-Opening for the Government;
Appendix B: United States v. Weber-Opening for the Defense;
Index. Author Bio (3900 characters maximum): Herbert J. Stern is a highly regarded trial lawyer and accomplished teacher of trial techniques. A partner and founding member in the New Jersey law firm of Stern & Kilcullen, Stern is a former Federal Judge, having served as United States district judge for the District of New Jersey from 1974 to 1987. He established his reputation as an advocate while serving as a trial attorney with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice from 1965 to 1969 and as United States attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1970 to 1974 when he won a national reputation for unprecedented convictions of numerous public officials. He was founder and Co-Director of the Advocacy Institute at the University of Virginia School of Law from 1980 to the present. He was Special Counsel for Hon. Lawrence Walsh, Independent Counsel, Iran-Contra Prosecution, 1988. Judge Stern was the subject of the book, Tiger in the Court (Chicago: Playboy Press, 1973). He is the author of Judgment in Berlin (New York: Universe Books, 1984) which was made into a major motion picture with Sean Penn, and Martin Sheen playing Judge Stern; and, most recently, Diary of a DA: The True Story of the Prosecutor Who Took On the Mob, Fought Corruption, and Won (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012). Review 1 (3900 characters maximum): ... a crowning achievement in a career devoted to helping all lawyers, from beginners to veterans, become more knowledgeable in the art of advocacy. Source: -- Arthur J. Greenbaum, Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, PC, New York, NY
In this volume, Voir Dire and Opening Argument, Stern describes tactics for the voir dire process and the construction and delivery of a successful opening to lay the foundation for the overall argument.
Contents:
1. Introduction;
2. Rule I: Personal Advocacy;
3. Rule II: One Central Theme;
4. Rule II: Make the Case Bigger than its Facts;
5. The Four Laws: Primacy, Recency, Frequency and Vividness;
6. Opening Argument-Not Opening Statement;
7. Problems to Confront in Openings;
8. The Form of the Opening;
9. Final Considerations for Opening;
10. Edward Bennett Williams Opens;
11. Openings in Nonjury Trials;
12. Applications of the Principles to a Case;
13. The Colonial Pipeline Case;
14. Jury Voir Dire;
15. Voir Dire in Two Actual Cases;
16. Conclusion,
Appendix A: United States v. Weber-Opening for the Government;
Appendix B: United States v. Weber-Opening for the Defense;
Index. Author Bio (3900 characters maximum): Herbert J. Stern is a highly regarded trial lawyer and accomplished teacher of trial techniques. A partner and founding member in the New Jersey law firm of Stern & Kilcullen, Stern is a former Federal Judge, having served as United States district judge for the District of New Jersey from 1974 to 1987. He established his reputation as an advocate while serving as a trial attorney with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice from 1965 to 1969 and as United States attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1970 to 1974 when he won a national reputation for unprecedented convictions of numerous public officials. He was founder and Co-Director of the Advocacy Institute at the University of Virginia School of Law from 1980 to the present. He was Special Counsel for Hon. Lawrence Walsh, Independent Counsel, Iran-Contra Prosecution, 1988. Judge Stern was the subject of the book, Tiger in the Court (Chicago: Playboy Press, 1973). He is the author of Judgment in Berlin (New York: Universe Books, 1984) which was made into a major motion picture with Sean Penn, and Martin Sheen playing Judge Stern; and, most recently, Diary of a DA: The True Story of the Prosecutor Who Took On the Mob, Fought Corruption, and Won (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012). Review 1 (3900 characters maximum): ... a crowning achievement in a career devoted to helping all lawyers, from beginners to veterans, become more knowledgeable in the art of advocacy. Source: -- Arthur J. Greenbaum, Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, PC, New York, NY
- GenresNonfiction
706 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1991
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November 12, 2013
Tremendously interesting perspective on the methods and goals of opening statements and voir dire. Although there is a tinge of "look what a great lawyer I am, by reading my transcript from a case when I was only 31 years old," the accompanying commentary and review of the transcript is totally worthwhile. And, the author is duly proud of having achieved conviction as a junior level prosecutor up against some of the best defense attorneys of the day. I can see why this series continues to be recommended even though it was published nearly 20 years ago. I will definitely be continuing through the other volumes of the series. Highly recommended to all trial lawyers and trial lawyer wannabes.
Displaying 1 of 1 review