Closing Arguments In An Illinois Divorce

A closing argument is “[i]n a trial, a lawyer’s final statement to the judge or jury before deliberation begins in which the lawyer request the judge or jury to consider the evidence and apply the law in her or her client’s favor” Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019) In an Illinois divorce hearing or trial there is no jury. “There shall be no trial by jury” 50 ILCS 5/103. In an Illinois divorce, the closing argument is solely for an audience of one: the judge. The closing argument should apply the evidence presented to the law and present the judge with an obvious and fair conclusion based on the evidence and the law. The judge is not dumb. The judge already heard the evidence. The judge knows the law. The judge has already come to an approximate conclusion. The judge may have even told you what conclusion they are considering. In light of the fact that the judge probably has already made up their mind, you want to be sure that your closing argument is as obvious as possible based on the evidence you presented. Ironically, when preparing for a divorce hearing or trial, the first thing you should do is prepare the last thing that happens in the case: the closing argument. Using Your Closing Argument To Organize Your Entire Trial For the person who is going to give a closing argument, the closing argument’s first draft should be written like a wish list. Don’t worry about the “argument” part. Just focus on the evidence you hope your argument might apply to. Under Illinois family law this is very easy because the statute is so clear. Use the below bullet points as a checklist to determine what is the evidence that you need to present to make a closing argument. I’ve divided the checklist into sections because some subject matters may not be relevant to your trial. Note: After every item of evidence you hope to present, you should also present some corroborating evidence verifying that evidence. That’s why I remind you “How do we know that?” after every statutory factor (more on this later). Division of Assets What property is non-marital? 750 ILCS 5/504(a) How do we know that? What property is marital? 750 ILCS 5/504(b),(c) How do we know that? What contributions did each party make to the marital property? 750 ILCS 5/504(d)(1) How do we know that? What […]

from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/closing-arguments-in-an-illinois-divorce/