Opinion ID: 2417477
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Limitation of Closing arguments

Text: At the end of the trial, the trial court stated that he was inclined to allow the plaintiffs forty minutes for closing argument, each defense attorney twenty minutes, and then ten minutes for the plaintiffs in rebuttal. Counsel for the guardians commented that forty minutes seemed unrealistic. The next day, prior to the beginning of closing arguments, the trial court stated he had decided to allow the plaintiffs a full hour, but only twenty minutes of that time could be used for rebuttal. Each of the defendants was still limited to twenty minutes in closing argument. On appeal, the guardians assert that the trial court erred in limiting the time because it is clear that the circumstances of this case necessitated a longer closing argument. However, the guardians did not object to the trial court's limitation upon closing argument. Thus, the issue is not preserved for appeal. Kempner v. Schulte, 318 Ark. 433, 885 S.W.2d 892 (1994). Although counsel for the guardians initially commented that forty minutes seemed unrealistic, the trial court reconsidered and extended the time to one hour. The guardians' counsel made no other comments regarding the limitation. The guardians further assert that the trial court erred in prohibiting them from arguing damages in the rebuttal portion of their argument. Following the conclusion of the defendants' opening arguments, one of the defendants asserted that since none of the defendants mentioned damages during closing arguments, plaintiffs should be prohibited from discussing damages during the rebuttal. The trial court agreed and ruled that the plaintiffs could not argue damages in their rebuttal. A trial court has wide discretion in controlling, supervising, and determining the propriety of counsels' arguments, and an appellate court will not reverse absent a showing of manifest abuse. Allred v. Demuth, 319 Ark. 62, 890 S.W.2d 578 (1994). Moreover, here the guardians cannot show they were prejudiced by the ruling. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants on the issue of liability; therefore, the jury was never required to consider the issue of damages. See Peters v. Pierce, 314 Ark. 8, 858 S.W.2d 680 (1993). This Court will not reverse in the absence of a showing of prejudice. Id.