With over 27 years of experience in the King County Prosecutor’s office, Professor Clark has built a prominent career in legal education and practice. A nationally recognized lecturer and author, he has shared his expertise at over 40 national continuing legal education courses and international training
An Interview
Ronald H. Clark Interview Published on: 30, Apr 2025With over 27 years of experience in the King County Prosecutor’s office, Professor Clark has built a prominent career in legal education and practice. A nationally recognized lecturer and author, he has shared his expertise at over 40 national continuing legal education courses and international training
Design Your Cross-Examination with Closing Argument on Your Mind
Cross-examination and closing argument are inextricably intertwined. Cross-examination should be crafted with closing argument in mind. The primary purpose of cross is to gain concessions supporting your case theory. In closing, you argue that those concessions prove your case. A secondary purpose of cross is to impeach the witness, and in closing you argue that
The Right and Wrong Ways to Prepare a Witness for a Deposition
During a deposition, the trial lawyer mines for gems that can be put on display during cross-examination. Those precious stones among others include the deponent’s concessions that support the cross-examiner’s case theory, fabrications and self-destructive behavior. How you prepare your witness for the deposition is critical to their performance during the deposition as well as
CAS Legal Mailbag – 4/24/25
Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter
Dear Legal Mailbag:
As an educator, I am having trouble keeping all these executive orders and lawsuits straight. Most recently, I heard that school districts throughout the country must certify to the United States Department of Education that they do not violate Title VI or they will lose their
How Absolute is Prosecutorial Immunity?
Government employees are afforded a variety of protections to allow them to perform their jobs without being subject to civil liabilities. Prosecutorial immunity mirrors the immunity afforded to judges, which protects prosecutors who are acting within the scope of their official duties from civil liability, even if such acts are malicious. The primary public policy
CAS Legal Mailbag – 4/10/25
Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter
Dear Legal Mailbag:
One of the teachers in my school is a toxic personality, and he is always trying to stir up discontent. For example, he recently distributed a petition among teachers here, asking them to share their stories of “overwork and disrespect.” He got nowhere with that, and he
Appellate Court Overturns Local Election Board’s Finding of a Pattern of Fraud and False Swearing on Nomination Papers
Just weeks before the April 1, 2025 election, an Illinois Appellate Court decision resulted in the reinstatement of a local township candidate’s name on the ballot. In the case of Bass v. Township Officers Electoral Board for Rich Township, the First District Appellate Court considered an appeal from Antoine Bass, a candidate for Rich
TRIAL ADVOCACY GOES TO THE MOVIES: Go to the Movies for Lessons in Trial Strategies, Techniques and Skills
What do My Cousin Vinny and Atticus Finch have in common? A lot more than you might think. While Atticus Finch’s closing argument in To Kill a Mockingbird continues to inspire viewers to attend law school, the cross-examinations in My Cousin Vinny—while hilariously funny—offers an equally compelling example of excellent trial advocacy.With the
5 STORYTELLING TIPS FOR A WINNING OPENING STATEMENT
Storytellers have techniques that they use to bring the story to life and make it persuasive, engaging, and interesting. These are techniques you can employ when crafting and delivering an opening statement. Here are five tips:1. Viewpoint To be effective, a story should be told from a viewpoint. When the story is told from
