THE IMPACT AND PERSPECTIVES OF THE LAWYER’S PLEA (SPEECH) IN THE COURTS OF ROMANIA
THE IMPACT AND PERSPECTIVES OF THE LAWYER’S PLEA (SPEECH) IN THE COURTS OF ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: It is common knowledge that rhetoric, the art of discourse, the gift of convincing the public through words was known to all the peoples in Antiquity and practiced especially in jury trials. A good lawyer is first and foremost a good orator, an individual in command of legal terminology, provisions and institutions, with a thorough knowledge of the client’s actual situation and the case submitted, combining all these in a discourse able to convince the court of his/her client’s rights or innocence. However, is it possible to deliver such speeches nowadays in the Romanian courts that are swamped in thousands of cases? Is there time and willingness to allow the lawyer to properly address this stage, which is the most important, significant, and spectacular in a case? It is not a rare occurrence for the Romanian lawyer to find that s/he is not given attention to, but instead is requested to submit written conclusions, and his/her minutely prepared discourse (mimics, gestures, voice tone, etc.) is left unused. Of course, the solution of written conclusion still stands, but do certain statements have the same impact when read and not heard? In the Anglo-Saxon legal system, in jury trials, the lawyer participates in selecting the jurors; s/he may refuse a juror who may not act in favor of his client. Then, during trial, s/he has to convince tens of people with no legal background and preparation of the justice of his/her cause. The present article is a short analysis of the present-day situation of the lawyer is pleading in court. It is an attempt at finding the extent to which the lawyer is still able to deliver his/her entire speech and the latter’s efficiency in the eyes of the panel of judges – who are legal experts – in comparison to the Anglo-Saxon system where the defense has to convince a group of citizens – the jury – who are not legal professionals.

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