Art. 774 Argument; scope

When lawyers give their closing arguments in a criminal trial, they can only talk about the evidence that was actually presented in court. They can point out evidence that's missing, and they can explain what conclusions the jury should draw from the facts. They can also talk about how the law applies to the case. Both the prosecutor and the defense lawyer have to stick to these limits.

Lawyers are not allowed to play on the jury's emotions or biases to win the case. Their arguments need to stay focused on facts and law, not on trying to make the jury angry, scared, or prejudiced against someone.

There's also a specific rule for how the trial ends. Since the prosecution presents its case first and last, the prosecutor gets a chance to respond after the defense gives its closing argument. This response, called rebuttal, has to stick to answering what the defense actually said. The prosecutor can't use this final word to raise brand new points that have nothing to do with the defense's argument.