How Classical Rhetoric Can Win Over Jurors Who Consider Themselves Tough on Crime
In certain corners of the Internet, people have boundless enthusiasm for Classical Greek civilization, usually focused on Athens in the 5th century B.C. If you linger too long scrolling through this content, it will give you the creeps. Either the content creators are only interested in the most superficial aspects of an ancient culture, or else they are idealizing it as an alternative to today’s world. Scroll far enough, and you will find elitism so ugly, it stands out even among the ugliness of the Internet. Somewhere in the mix, you will find impassioned pleas by teachers of Latin, most of whom also studied Classical Greek on their way to low-paying jobs in private high schools, that studying classical languages and civilizations prepares you for a career as an eloquent lawyer. This may be so, but you have never thought about it, because your ambition has never been to be anything except an epic pothead. Once your drug habits get you into trouble, though, and you come face to face with a Florida drug offenses attorney, you may find that your lawyer’s skill in classical rhetoric is just what you need to get you acquitted.
Pathos, Logos, Ethos, and Your Drug Crime Case
Aristotle identified the four rhetorical appeals as pathos, logos, ethos, and Kairos. Of these four, Kairos is the easiest to harness in a criminal trial; it is finding the right moment to make a persuasive argument, so Kairos is working in your favor by the simple fact that the audience is sitting in the jury box while your lawyer has the floor to persuade them. Ethos, here meaning the credibility of the speaker, is likewise a slam dunk; your lawyer, being a criminal defense lawyer, is the right person for the job.
Logos, here meaning making logical arguments, is the most indispensable rhetorical appeal. Your lawyer can achieve it through a variety of techniques, such as syllogism, the rule of threes, and saying the most memorable parts of your argument at the beginning and end. An underrated way of making a logical argument persuasive is not stating the conclusion directly, but rather letting the audience infer it for themselves. No matter how much stage presence your lawyer has, it will be for nothing if the jury can easily unravel your lawyer’s arguments in the deliberation room.
Pathos means appealing to the audience’s emotions. Lawyers can harness it effectively by interviewing jurors during jury selection and finding out their views and values. It is not about giving a hammy performance full of dramatic pauses and graphic descriptions of people’s suffering; it requires more subtlety than that. It requires the number one rule of effective communication, namely, know your audience.
Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases
A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you persuade the jury that there is reasonable doubt about your guilt through knowledge of the law and of rhetoric. Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.
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.
