Famed Florida defense attorney Roy Black of Black Srebnick decried the “death of advocacy” in his letter to the editor over a ruling in which a federal judge in Miami hit an attorney with a contempt order and a $500 fine after he “uttered a few words over the critical time limit.”
“Why is there a limit placed on final argument?” Black argued. “Too persuasive. Too dramatic? Or too pedestrian? We are trial lawyers; we go to war with words. We have the verbal confidence to stand on our feet, articulate the facts, and marshal our arguments. We are able to speak with passion in a way that inspires people. The final argument is our primary weapon.”
This article is part of the “Death to Advocacy” ALM series.
