The witnesses that I have mentioned to this point are all viewed as being lay witnesses. Because they are lay witnesses their observations are based on normal human experience. For the most part they possess no particular skill or training in the area that they testified. Their observations and comments are based on what they believe that they saw. As a result, their observations are subject to all the human frailties that we all possess. They are all testify to what they believe to be the truth and to what they believe they saw but, as you will soon see, they cannot all be right.

You will also hear from individuals who the court will advise you are to be considered as expert witnesses in their field of study or experience. The testimony of these individuals, as you will see, will differ substantially from the testimony of the lay witnesses. Like the lay witnesses the testimony of the experts will be important but, again, I would ask that you listen to what they have to say very carefully. Just because these witnesses have been identified as experts and they have offered their opinion does not mean that you have to accept their opinions as facts. What they are testifying to involves complex concepts and, as you will see, even experts disagree. Listen carefully and decide for yourself what makes sense. Not everything will. Again, someone has to be wrong. They cannot be all right.

The stakes in this case are extremely high. Before you is a young man whose life will never be the same regardless of what the outcome of this case may be. He has to live forever with what occurred that night. He has to deal with the reality that a good friend of his is no longer with us and that he was driving the car that was involved in the accident that caused her death. You will hear from this young...

You will be able to see why he is so well-respected by his friends and why Ms. Sullivan was so fond of him. He is not the cold-hearted, reckless individual that the prosecution will attempt to convince you he is. Instead, he is a responsible, goal oriented young man who would never intentionally, or otherwise, hurt anyone.
On the night in question, he was one of the principals in a set of circumstances that led to a disaster, an accident. He was driving an unfamiliar vehicle on a dark, winding road that was lacking any lighting of any kind. Making the situation worse was the fact that it was raining heavily. Add in the possibility that something unexpectedly appeared in the road such as a deer and you have conditions ripe for an accident.

The burden that has been placed on you is a heavy one. There are no easy decisions in this case. Emotions will run high throughout these proceedings and it is incumbent that everyone attempts to maintain a balance and attempt to view the circumstances surrounding this accident as objectively as possible. It will not be easy but I am confident that you will exercise your best efforts in an attempt to find a just result. That is all that anyone can ask from you.

I am confident that when you finally retire to the jury room you will find that Danny is innocent of the charges that the prosecution has brought against him and that you will return a verdict of not guilty on each and every one of them.

On behalf of my client and myself I thank you again for your service and wish you the best of luck in the mission that is ahead of you. The entire community appreciates your willingness to step forward and offer your services. Thank you for your kind attention.