The Florida Supreme Court recently decided whether a lawyer can call a witness a “liar” during closing arguments in a trial. Different courts had different opinions, but the Supreme Court ruled that lawyers can’t give their personal opinion on a witness’s credibility. This means they can’t call a witness a “liar” unless they have evidence to support it. Until a recent court decision, attorneys in Florida were divided on whether it was okay to call a witness a “liar” during closing arguments. Some courts said it was grounds for a new trial, while others said it was okay if there was evidence to support it. The Florida Supreme Court finally decided that it’s okay to call a witness a “liar” during closing arguments, as long as there is evidence to support it. But just because it’s allowed doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea, and some jurors might find it offensive. The court also didn’t say how much evidence is needed to support calling a witness a “liar.” The Florida Supreme Court has said that it’s okay for lawyers to call witnesses liars in closing arguments, as long as they only talk about the evidence in the case. But they can’t tell the jury to convict someone just because they think they’re lying. In one case, the prosecutor said that the defendant’s nose would be as big as Pinocchio’s, and then said “truth equals justice” and “justice is that you convict him.” The court said this was wrong because it was basically telling the jury to convict the defendant just because he lied. So, it’s okay to call someone a liar, but you can’t say that lying is enough to make someone guilty. In a civil trial, lawyers can’t ask the jury to find someone guilty just because they think they lied. They need to base their arguments on the evidence and not just call someone a liar to win the case. In the US courts, there’s not a lot of past cases about calling someone a liar in court. Some courts say it’s ok if there’s evidence, but others say it’s not. In Florida, the court is ok with it as long as there’s proof. The Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy clears up inconsistencies among district courts and sets guidelines for attorneys to follow in closing arguments. Attorneys can’t call a witness a “liar” without evidence, but they also can’t base their case on personal opinions instead of facts. This helps keep the trial fair and focused on the evidence presented. The court disapproved of a previous decision that said lawyers couldn’t call a witness a “liar” if there was evidence to back it up. Another case also said it was wrong for a lawyer to express their opinion about a witness’s credibility. Overall, lawyers need to be careful about how they talk about witnesses in court. The court discussed the problem of improper closing arguments by lawyers in court cases. They noted that it’s an ongoing issue and often comes up in appeals. They also talked about whether these improper arguments can be brought up for the first time in appeals for civil cases. In a trial, it’s okay for lawyers to say that a witness is lying as long as they can back it up with evidence from the case. Some lawyers prefer to say the witness is mistaken instead of using the word “liar” because it can be offensive to some people. In some court cases, prosecutors make improper comments during closing arguments by calling the defendant a liar or saying that the witnesses are lying. This is not allowed because it puts pressure on the jury to find the defendant guilty. However, some courts have also said that using different words like “untruthful” or “fabricated” might be okay. Florida law allows for sanctions to be imposed on lawyers who violate professional responsibility codes.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/calling-the-witness-a-liar-during-closing-argument-the-florida-supreme-courts-final-approval/
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