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Steven Avery & Brendan Dassey— Case Archive
Steven Averytrial-daytrial-dayKenneth R. KratzDean A. Strangclosing_argumentrebuttal_closingjury_instructionsDay 24 - March 15, 2007Dean Strang finished the defense closing, and Kenneth Kratz gave the State's rebuttal. The court instructed jurors on three charges and, during deliberations, withdrew four photograph exhibits by stipulation while deferring a request concerning three physical exhibits.
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Day 24 - March 15, 2007

Closing Arguments, Jury Instructions, and Exhibit Withdrawals

Judge Patrick L. Willis
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5Pages
0Witnesses
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Day 24 of 27
Appearing:
Kenneth R. Kratz Dean A. Strang

Dean Strang finished the defense closing, and Kenneth Kratz gave the State's rebuttal. The court instructed jurors on three charges and, during deliberations, withdrew four photograph exhibits by stipulation while deferring a request concerning three physical exhibits.

Full day summary

Before the jury entered, both sides said they did not seek to excuse any juror for cause based on individual voir dire. Dean Strang then completed the defense closing argument. He challenged the State's timeline of Teresa Halbach's visit, questioned investigators' early focus on Steven Avery and the handling of forensic evidence, and argued that the vehicle blood and locations of burned bone fragments complicated the State's account. He asked jurors to find the murder and mutilation charges unproved beyond a reasonable doubt. Kenneth Kratz responded for the State, disputing the evidence-planting theory and arguing for the State's account of the garage, vehicle, fire, and forensic evidence. He argued that EDTA results ruled out Avery's stored blood vial as the source of three tested vehicle blood samples and urged guilty verdicts. After Strang objected to part of the rebuttal, the court reminded jurors that arguments are not evidence. The court read guilty and not-guilty verdict forms for three charges and instructed jurors to decide each count separately and unanimously. During deliberations, the court withdrew four photograph exhibits by stipulation; Strang deferred a request to withdraw three physical exhibits.

1. Morning Juror-Cause Clarification

Neither side sought to excuse a juror for cause after individual voir dire. The jury returned, and Strang was set to speak first as closing arguments resumed.

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Procedural
Morning session and juror-cause clarification
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Both sides confirmed that they sought no juror excusals for cause based on individual voir dire before closings resumed.

2. Defense Closing Argument by Dean Strang

Dean Strang challenged the State’s timeline and forensic evidence in his defense closing, then asked jurors to find murder and mutilation unproved beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Closing
Defense closing argument by Dean Strang Dean A. Strang
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Strang urged jurors to find reasonable doubt, challenging the State's timeline, investigative conduct, forensic testing, and interpretation of physical evidence.

Highlights

Defense closing argument by Dean StrangotherStrang disputes the State's timing of Halbach's visit using the bus driver's, Blaine Dassey's, and John Leurquin's accounts, then challenges the claim that Avery's later cell-phone call supplied an alibi.Defense closing argument by Dean StrangotherStrang uses recorded law-enforcement communications and the Fassbender memo to argue that investigators focused on Avery early and sought a particular forensic result; he also challenges the bullet DNA testing protocol.Defense closing argument by Dean Strang“Because juries decide guilt, not police officers who are involved in the hunt.”— Dean A. StrangThis states his argument about the danger of investigative certainty and alleged evidence planting.Defense closing argument by Dean StrangotherStrang argues that blood in Halbach's RAV4 and burned bone fragments away from the burn area complicate the State's account of where she was killed and where her remains were burned.

3. State Rebuttal Closing Argument by Kenneth Kratz

In rebuttal closing on Day 24, Kratz disputed the defense's evidence-planting theory and urged guilty verdicts.

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Rebuttal
State rebuttal closing argument by Kenneth Kratz Kenneth R. Kratz
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Kratz rebutted the defense's planting theory and forensic challenges; after a defense objection, the court reminded jurors that arguments are not evidence.

Highlights

State rebuttal closing argument by Kenneth Kratz“But that key, in the big picture, in the big scheme of things here, means very little.”— Kenneth R. KratzKratz urges jurors not to make the disputed key decisive.State rebuttal closing argument by Kenneth KratzobjectionStrang objects to Kratz's treatment of the quarry bones and the 1985 case. The court reminds jurors that counsel's arguments are not evidence and that they must draw their own conclusions from the submitted evidence.State rebuttal closing argument by Kenneth KratzotherKratz advances the State's theory that Halbach was killed in Avery's garage and that Avery moved her body into the SUV before burning it, identifying the bullet, luminol reaction, vehicle evidence, and fire as support for his requested inferences.State rebuttal closing argument by Kenneth KratzotherKratz challenges the proposed planting of blood from Avery's stored vial, relying on testimony that EDTA was detected in the vial but not in the three tested vehicle blood samples.

4. Final Jury Instructions and Verdict Forms

The court read the verdict forms, instructed jurors on separate unanimous decisions for each count, and identified the alternate juror.

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Jury Instruction
Final jury instructions and verdict forms
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The court read verdict forms for three charges, instructed jurors on separate and unanimous verdicts, and identified the alternate juror.

Highlights

Final jury instructions and verdict formsjury eventThe court read six guilty and not-guilty verdict forms for three charges and instructed jurors to decide each count separately and unanimously.

5. Exhibit Withdrawal and Jury-Room Materials

During Day 24 jury deliberations, the court withdrew four exhibits by stipulation while Strang deferred his request to withdraw three physical exhibits. The court also addressed which materials could be sent to the jury and when it would hear from the parties first.

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Procedural
Exhibit withdrawal and jury-room materials
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The court withdrew four photograph exhibits, deferred a request to withdraw three physical exhibits, and limited automatic jury-room materials to the remaining photographs.

Highlights

Exhibit withdrawal and jury-room materialsrulingOn the parties' stipulation, the court withdrew Photograph Exhibits 173, 174, and 228. After the clerk checked the record, the court also withdrew Exhibit 229.
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