Lawyer's defensive speech: limits of admissibility

Abstract

The purpose of studying the issue of the limits of admissibility of a lawyer's defensive speech in court debates is to clarify key points related to the structure of its content and form, as well as the features of the proclamation in a court session.

The methodological basis of the study is a combination of both general scientific and special research methods. In particular, the method of induction and analysis was used to clarify the concept of a defensive speech and its meaning, and a systemic approach was used to analyze the structural parts of a defensive speech.

The formal-legal method allowed us to analyze the provisions of current legislation relating to the activities of a lawyer at the stage of court debates, in particular during the preparation and delivery of a defense speech, while the comparative-legal method allowed us to compare the requirements for the behavior of a lawyer (in particular his speech) contained in regulatory legal acts. The study generally highlights the importance of the role of a defense attorney in criminal proceedings in general and during a trial in particular, and focuses specifically on the concept and meaning of a defense speech during court debates. It has been found that a defense speech is a mandatory final speech by a lawyer, which is aimed primarily at exerting a legitimate psychological influence on the court, the jury (if they participate in the case) and other persons present in the courtroom, in order to convince them of the correctness of their position. Since the defense speech of a lawyer directly affects the formation of the judge's internal conviction, which has the effect of making a decision in the case, it must meet the requirements of admissibility. Based on the analysis of current regulatory legal acts regulating the activities of a lawyer, the article identifies a number of provisions that determine the limits of admissibility of such speech.

It is substantiated that a defense speech must comply not only with the requirements of procedural law, but also with the rules of ethics, moral culture, namely its external manifestation - the appropriate appearance of the lawyer and the culture of his communication. It is emphasized that the knowledge and application by the lawyer of methods and means of psychological influence in the course of compiling and delivering his speech is of great importance.