A MANUAL OF JURY TRIAL PROCEDURES - 2004
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Chapter Three: The Trial Phase

3.17  Mini-Arguments During Trial   

The trial judge may consider allowing counsel to make miniarguments during trial. The court has discretion to allow short arguments to the jury or judge to explain an important issue or summarize the testimony of one or more witnesses. This can be used effectively in complex or lengthy jury and non-jury cases. Arguments may be limited to five minutes or less and can be allowed only at the court's discretion. For example, in cases involving lengthy testimony by experts in a complex patent case, the court may wish to consider asking each lawyer to summarize the testimony that will or has been presented so that the trier of fact may better understand the issues presented. This procedure might also be considered in trials where the court has limited the time each side will have to present their case. The lawyers might be allowed to use a portion of their allotted time for miniarguments during the trial.

The trial court should use extreme caution in allowing miniarguments in criminal cases. If mini-arguments are allowed, the court should caution the jury that they should keep an open mind until they have heard all the evidence, heard the court's instructions and heard final argument of the parties at the conclusion of the trial.