I was disappointed in the defense lawyers closing argument. Wish he’d measured the four feet from the jury box, looked them all in the eye so he knew how close it was, turned his back & then spun around lunged towards the jury & slapped the railing. That’s how long Kyle had to determine if this raving lunatic fresh outa jail was going to take his rifle & shoot Kyle & others. That’s real time folks, place yourself in Kyles shoes, what would you have done in 3/4 of a second ?
I thought the defense closing argument was one of the poorer performances I have seen a defense lawyer give. And make no doubt about it, effective closings are a performance.
One thing that jumped out at me was the over reliance on videos. A good lawyers stock in trade is his words. I thought by over using PowerPoint and video that the defense never got into a cadence or rhythm when doing his closing. Also if you are going to use electronic props, make sure you are practiced in them so you aren't fumbling with them like he did.
Wish the defense could have gotten the judge to reconsider not allowing Rosenbaughs past criminal record. I think the fact that he had served 10 years in prison for child rape likely meant that he had been in dozens of fights, and defense could have brought in a record of his prison infractions to prove this. A 36 year old veteran of dozens of jailhouse fights has a distinct advantage against a 17 year old. I think that when Binger brought up a "bar fight" scenario he opened the door for this.
"Put none but Americans on guard tonight." -George Washington
