Once jury selection is completed in your Los Angeles DUI trial, both the prosecutor and your defense attorney will make an opening statement to the jury. Opening statements are a critical stage in your drunk driving trial, because it gives your Los Angeles DUI attorney an opportunity to introduce you to jurors and begin building a crucial connection.

Because the prosecutor carries the burden of proving your Los Angeles DUI case beyond a reasonable doubt, he or she gives the first opening statement. Then your Los Angeles DUI attorney is given the choice of giving an opening statement or waiting until after the prosecutor has concluded his case.

Your Los Angeles DUI attorney may choose to give an opening statement right after the prosecutor, because it prompts jurors to keep an open mind during the prosecutor's case. While it's important to give the jurors an opposing point of view while the prosecutor makes his case, your Los Angeles DUI attorney should never make statements that cannot be delivered upon later.

Because it's critical not to make statements that cannot be supported later, it isn't uncommon for a Los Angeles DUI attorney to make a noncommittal opening. In many cases the defense lawyer will simply ask the jury to keep an open mind until they have heard all of the evidence and begin their deliberations. It's also important to remind jurors that the prosecutor has the burden of proving every element of your Los Angeles DUI case beyond a reasonable doubt.

It's crucial to remind jurors that the prosecutor bears the burden of proving your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, because jurors may begin the case believing that if your chemical test showed a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 percent or greater, you must be guilty of Los Angeles DUI. However, if the jurors can be persuaded to keep an open mind and weigh all of the evidence before making a decision, a small battle is already won.

Your Los Angeles DUI attorney must also remind jurors that the defense has no obligation to prove anything. Your DUI attorney could decline to call any witnesses or produce any evidence at all in support of your innocence, and if the prosecutor hasn't proven every element of the DUI charge beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury cannot convict you.