Rummaging through a Wilderness of Verbiage - The Charge Conference, Jury Argument and Instructions

Judges frequently assume that a lawyer who has engaged in the preparation of pleadings, the extensive discovery practice permitted by both civil and criminal statutes, and who has presented all of his or her evidence to a jury has also researched and understands the law applicable to the lawsuit. Lawyers frequently assume that a judge who has reviewed the court file and presided over the evidentiary portion of the trial also fully comprehends the law of the action. Unfortunately, neither assumption is completely correct, although both bar and trial bench correctly interpret and apply our complex and ever growing body of substantive law in a surprisingly high percentage of cases