What makes a good closing argument? Jurors in the Karen Read retrial are about to find out.
Write to us at
. To subscribe,
.
TODAY'S STARTING POINT
When prosecutors wrapped up the first trial of Karen Read last year, they declared that 'all of the testimony' indicated she had caused the death of her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, during a blizzard in Canton in 2022.
That closing argument, for at least some jurors, wasn't convincing; after the jury deadlocked and failed to reach a verdict, the judge declared a mistrial.
Now, as Read's second trial
'It's equal parts art and science,' said Chris Dearborn, a professor at Suffolk Law School. 'It's about persuasion, trying to tell a better story than the other side. And some of those basic principles of persuasion are really fundamentally no different, whether it's a barroom argument, a closing argument, or a toast or speech.'
Advertisement
Several attorneys and legal professionals who spoke to the Globe were unanimous: one of the worst things that attorneys can do in their closing arguments is appear underhanded or insincere.
'If you do something that loses you credibility, it really can hurt you,' Dearborn said. 'On close cases, on the margins, being the side that the jury trusts or likes the most can make a difference.'
Advertisement
Losing credibility can happen easily by failing to mention what Dearborn referred to as 'bad facts' — ignoring evidence or threads that are detrimental to your case.
Some of those facts
'In his opening statement, Hank Brennan never talked about Trooper Proctor,' Dearborn said. 'I think it'll be a mistake if he doesn't own that issue in his closing. Because it can look like he's trying to hide something.'
Even if the facts of the case are fully and accurately addressed, attorneys still run the risk of appearing to be insincere.
'If you are not a person who raises your voice, then don't do that in the closing,' said Boston-based attorney J.W. Carney, Jr. 'Or if you are a person who's sometimes a little insecure, it's okay, you can show that. The jurors have gotten to know who you are through the trial. You don't want to change that personality.'
Good lawyers balance their own personality, whether flashy or more methodological, with a measure of accessibility when speaking to jurors.
'You have to be very mindful of the jury's intelligence and be very careful not to potentially insult them or suggest that they don't have the ability to be, both individually and collectively, discerning,' said attorney Brad Bailey.
Advertisement
At the end of the day, that means delivering the argument like a regular person, clearly and articulately without being overly wordy or extravagant.
'You should talk like you are at Thanksgiving dinner, talking to your grandmother,' said Jack Lu, a retired Superior Court judge and lecturer at Boston College Law School. 'Zero legalese, zero police language, and zero lawyer language.'
That's not to say there's no room for emotion, he added.
'If there is not blood on the floor, meaning rhetorically, at the end of the closing argument, you have not used raw emotion,' Lu said.
Throughout the trial, attorneys from both teams have been making note of what testimony or threads of evidence resonate with jurors, Bailey said.
'You can bet there's a lot of conversation behind closed doors about what seemed to work,' he said. 'You may see direct eye contact being made with particular jurors that could have reacted to certain things.'
Carney, who worked alongside Brennan while representing James 'Whitey' Bulger more than a decade ago, said the lead prosecutor in the Read case would address the jurors directly.
'Some lawyers act as if they're giving a closing argument as an orator in the Roman Coliseum,' Carney said. 'Hank talks to individuals in the jury. What he's doing is speaking to a single juror at a time. And that juror during the deliberations will remember the point that Hank gave.'
The defense, meanwhile, will seek to convince the jury that the prosecution did not meet the burden of proof in establishing Read's guilt.
'They not only have to lay out why they believe that the crimes have not been proven and why they think the jury ought to have multiple reasonable doubts, but they also anticipate upfront and try to rebut in advance what they believe the prosecution is going to say [in the rebuttal],' he said.
Advertisement
Carney pointed to one recent case —
'When it was done, I spoke to my two partners and said, 'Here is the website on which you can watch [the attorney's] closing argument, it's brilliant,'' he said.
Dearborn said the closing arguments from Read's first trial 'were a little too long, a little bit too scattershot.' But there were a few key phrases
— particularly from the defense — that he said probably resonated with the jury.
'Those are the things that sometimes jurors talk about because there's only so much attention span out there,' he said. 'So if you're not aware of that when you're talking to a jury, you can lose the jury.'
Related story:
Revisit
🧩
7 Across:
76°
POINTS OF INTEREST
A flight swerved onto a grassy area at Logan yesterday.
WCVB
Boston and Massachusetts
Mishap:
The FAA is investigating after a JetBlue flight landing at Logan Airport
Judge me not:
Testifying at her civil disciplinary hearing, Judge Shelley Joseph
Baker-off:
Two Republicans who worked for former Governor Charlie Baker
Back home:
BJ's will
Trump administration
Takebacks:
House Republicans voted to rescind federal funding for public media, USAID, and a program that fights global HIV. The measure now heads to the Senate. (
Parades and protests:
Soldiers and tanks will parade through Washington D.C. tomorrow to mark the Army's 250th birthday — on the same day as Trump's 79th. Activists are planning nationwide anti-Trump protests. (
Kseniia Petrova:
Federal officials
Poor conditions:
Detainees at a Burlington ICE facility say they've been
RFK Jr.:
Experts say
Climate change:
Excise tax:
Senate Republicans confirmed Billy Long, who as a congressman sought to abolish the IRS, to lead the agency. (
The Nation and the World
SCOTUS:
The justices ruled unanimously for a girl with epilepsy in a case that could make it easier to sue schools for better disability accommodations. (
Harvey Weinstein retrial:
The judge declared a mistrial after the jury foreman refused to deliberate over a rape charge. (
Israel-Hamas war:
A Gaza aid group said Hamas gunmen had killed eight of its personnel and might have taken others hostage. (
Air India crash:
A British national was the only survivor after a plane
VIEWPOINTS
Living in fear:
In Globe Opinion, an undocumented Milford High student and classmate of Marcelo Gomes da Silva asks Americans for empathy — and
Advertisement
Modest proposal:
Boston's two NPR-affiliated radio stations, GBH and WBUR, are both facing financial and political pressure.
Send us your viewpoint:
Massachusetts lawmakers are debating
BESIDE THE POINT
📚
Reader recommendations:
Check out
❤️
Dinner with Cupid:
For this pair, pearls of conversation
🔵
Egyptian blue:
The color, found on ancient artwork, is the oldest known synthetic pigment. Scientist have now recreated it. (
🎥
Da-dum:
In honor of its 50th anniversary,
🍽️
Old school:
A Madrid tavern that dates to 1725 says it's the world's oldest continuously operating restaurant. The owners of a nearby establishment are trying to prove theirs is. (
🌅
Sunup to sundown:
Have the
🐠
Fishy situation:
Someone converted a car outside a Yalta hotel into a koi-filled aquarium. (
Thanks for reading Starting Point.
This newsletter was edited by
Advertisement
❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at
✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can
📬 Delivered Monday through Friday.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Michigan State Police trooper finds woman shot in the foot during traffic stop
Man arrested after two Southgate police officers shot; heat wave in the forecast; other top stories Man arrested after two Southgate police officers shot; heat wave in the forecast; other top stories Man arrested after two Southgate police officers shot; heat wave in the forecast; other top stories A 27-year-old woman is in the hospital after a Michigan State Police Trooper discovered during a traffic stop that she had been shot on Saturday, officials say. Police say the trooper was on patrol when a radar speed gun detected a motorist driving a car at 103 mph. The trooper stopped the car on Trumbull Street. The driver, later identified as the woman, was "hysterical" when the trooper approached, according to MSP. During the stop, the trooper discovered the woman, from Detroit, had been shot in the foot. The trooper provided first aid to the woman before she was taken to the hospital, officials said. According to MSP, the shooting took place in Dearborn and involved a family member. The trooper relayed all the information he had to the Dearborn Police Department, and later went to the hospital to check on the woman. It's unknown whether any arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. "What started as a speeding violation ended with the trooper treating a gunshot wound and investigating a shooting," MSP Lt. Mike Shaw said in a post on X Saturday. "Great work by this trooper in calming down the driver and making sure she got the care she needed."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Actor ‘addicted' to Karen Read trial says he invited her to Mass. concert
John Stamos appears to be a fan of Karen Read. The actor, who is currently on tour with The Beach Boys, said he was 'addicted' to the trial during a concert at Lowell Memorial Auditorium on June 10. 'I'm addicted to the trial,' Stamos said before telling the crowd that he 'invited Karen Read' to the show, according to a TikTok that was reshared by The Young Jurks on Facebook. The audience erupted in cheers and laughter before Stamos shared that this July will mark his 40th year of playing with The Beach Boys. Since 1985, the 'Full House' star has sung and played various instruments with the band, including drums and various other percussion instruments. Stamos honored The Beach Boys' late co-founder Brian Wilson in an emotional tribute on his Instagram on June 11, the day Wilson died. 'Brian Wilson didn't just soundtrack my life … he filled it with color, with wonder, with some of the most unforgettable, emotional, joyful moments I've ever known," Stamos wrote, adding that 'it's hard to put into words what it meant to stand beside him, laugh with him, play his music with him.' 'His music made me feel things I didn't know how to say. It made me want to make people feel the way his music made me feel. So much of my life and career, so much of me, exists because of what Brian created,' the actor wrote. 'Rest easy, Brian. Thank you for the music. Thank you for the moments. I'll carry them with me -forever.' Meanwhile, jurors in the Karen Read trial continued their deliberations Monday morning. The jury began deliberating last Friday. The jury heard from dozens of witnesses over the eight weeks of the trial. Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe. Prosecutors say Read backed her SUV into O'Keefe, then left him to die in the snow outside the home of a fellow Boston Police officer in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022. Read's defense has insisted there was no collision and others are responsible for O'Keefe's death. Famous drama actor battling ALS says he has lost use of his arm 'Bachelor' winner from Mass. splits from fiancé nearly 3 months after finale Emmy-nominated actor from 'Scarface,' 'Ghostbusters II' dies at 87 Legendary songwriter, co-founder of iconic '60s band dies at 82 Doechii calls out Trump's 'ruthless attacks' to stop Los Angeles protests Read the original article on MassLive.
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Grieving parents awarded $2.25M after Georgia doctor plastered videos of their decapitated baby on social media
A Georgia couple whose baby was decapacitated during childbirth was awarded a $2.25 million verdict after their pathologist posted graphic autopsy videos on social media without their consent. Dr. Jackson Gates and his Atlanta-based business will have to fork over the large sum to Jessica Ross and Traveon Taylor Sr. after a Fulton County jury found him liable of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and fraud on Wednesday. 'This young couple trusted him with the remains of their precious baby,' attorney's for the grieving parents said, noting that the doctor 'poured salt into the couple's already deep wounds.' 3 Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor Sr., parents of a baby who was decapitated during childbirth. AP 'Gates, in turn, repaid this trust by posting horrific images of their child for the world to see.' The heartbroken couple hired the twisted doctor to perform an autopsy on their deceased newborn two days after their obstetrician allegedly applied excessive force to the baby's neck when its shoulders became stuck in Ross's pelvic area, causing it to detach during the traumatic July 2023 delivery. 3 The traumatic delivery occurred at Southern Regional Medical Center in July 2023. ERIK S LESSER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The baby's head was delivered vaginally, but the rest of the body was removed via C-section. The death was later ruled a homicide. Gates posted numerous videos and photos to his Instagram later that month, showing the grisly postmortem examination of their infants 'decapitated, severed head,' the couple said in their lawsuit. The deranged pathologist initially removed the footage after receiving a letter from the couple's attorney — but later reposted them, according to the lawsuit. 3 The couple was awarded $2.25 million in a lawsuit against their pathologist. AP Gates' attorney, Ira Livant, said his client typically documents his autopsy's on social media to educate fellow pathologists and highlight the importance of independent examinations in cases where families suspect medical misconduct. 'Dr. Gates testified that he is deeply sorry for any harm that he unintentionally caused the plaintiffs,' Livant said Saturday. 'Had he known for one second that they would see that and that they would know it was their child, he would never have done it.' The couple will receive $2 million in compensatory damages and an additional $250,000 in punitive damages from Gates and his company, Medical Diagnostics Choices, per the judgement. The bereaved parents have separate lawsuits pending against the delivering doctor and the Riverdale hospital where the horrific incident took place. With Post wires.
