Classical Rhetoric Is The Secret Ingredient In A Successful Defense At Trial
Which academic subject can help you avoid criminal penalties? Is it a STEM subject where you can land a tech career that makes you enough money that you are above the law? Probably not. Still, studying math can help you avoid accounting errors that might lead investigators to suspect you of financial crimes, and studying chemistry and biology can help you see why certain substances might be dangerous in combination with each other or in proximity to the human body, before anyone gets injured and before you get criminal charges. Studying foreign languages can help you avoid misunderstandings in a multilingual environment like Florida. Who would have thought that philosophy would be such a relevant academic subject to criminal law? The more things change, the more they stay the same, and the strategies for successfully presenting defenses in a criminal trial are the same once that worked in Athens in the 5th century B.C. Fortunately, you are not the one who has to harness the power of philosophy to secure your acquittal; that task falls to your Tampa criminal defense lawyer.
Ethos, Logos, Pathos, and Kairos in the Courtroom
Many centuries ago, Aristotle boiled down rhetoric, the science of what makes speech effective, to four elements. Kairos is the context of the speech, the place and time where it happens. Ethos is the speaker’s credibility based on his or her reputation. Logos is the logic of the argument, and pathos is an appeal to emotion.
In the courtroom, Kairos and ethos are easy to achieve. The courtroom is the perfect place for the speech, and the lawyer and, if applicable, the expert witnesses are the ideal people to deliver it. Logos and pathos take more work. As for logos, your lawyer must present an interpretation of the evidence that plausibly establishes doubt about your guilt. It works best if your lawyer lays out the premises of the argument but leaves the conclusion unsaid. This way, the first time anyone speaks the conclusion out loud will be in the deliberation room, and the jurors will feel that they have figured it out themselves. This is more effective than if your lawyer explicitly tells them what to think.
Pathos is the most elusive of the rhetorical modes. Emotions are unique to each person, and while you can fake your emotions to other people, you cannot fake them to yourself. Displays of anger, sadness, or other emotions displayed by witnesses may not inspire the reactions in jurors that you think they will. The best way for lawyers to anticipate jurors’ emotional responses to the evidence and arguments presented during the trial is to interact with the prospective jurors during jury selection and get a feeling for their views and values.
Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven
A criminal defense lawyer can help you present compelling defenses at trial if you are facing criminal charges. Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.
Sources:
ncdd.com/top-dui-attorneys-blog/three-keys-to-creating-winning-arguments-pathos-logos-and-ethos#:~:text=How%20do%20we%2C%20as%20attorneys,%2C%20and%20ethos%2C%20can%20help.
law.temple.edu/aer/2022/10/24/persuasion-science-for-trial-lawyers/#:~:text=By%20enticing%20the%20jurors%20to,because%20they%20have%20persuaded%20themselves.
