closing argument
closing argument. In a trial, a lawyer’s final statement to the judge or jury before deliberation begins, in which the lawyer requests the judge or jury to consider the evidence and to apply the law in his or her client’s favor. • After a jury trial, the judge ordinarily instructs the jury on the law that governs the case. — Also termed closing statement; final argument; jury summation; summing up; summation. [Cases: Criminal Law 708.1; Federal Civil Pro-cedure 1973; Trial 111. C.J.S. Trial §§ 293–294.]