Question

In his closing argument during the O.J. Simpson murder trial, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran said to the jury:

"You are empowered to do justice. You are empowered to ensure that this great system of ours works. Listen for a moment, will you, please. One of my favorite people in history is the great Frederick Douglas. He said shortly after the slaves were freed, quote, "In a composite nation like ours as before the law, there should be no rich, no poor, no high, no low, no white, no black, but common country, common citizenship, equal rights and a common destiny." This marvelous statement was made more than 100 years ago. It's an ideal worth striving for and one that we still strive for. We haven't reached this goal yet, but certainly in this great country of ours, we're trying. With a jury such as this, we hope we can do that in this particular case."

Evaluate Cochran's argument in terms of logos, pathos, and ethos. Use evidence from the statement to support your answer. Your response should be a minimum of five sentences.

Answer 1

Cochran uses Logos, Pathos, and Ethos in his argument. An example of Ethos is, "Frederick Douglas is quoted as saying after the slaves were freed, an attempt to convince the jury of the credibility of the speaker and quotation or reference." His use of Pathos is, "We hope we can do that here. We are trying to strive for the ideal of equality." And he uses Logos in this sentence, "In the "composite society" in which we live, there should be no differentiation among the classes. We are responsible for making the appropriate decision based on our own multi-cultural backgrounds." Cochran uses all of these methods to hopefully appeal to the jury and show that his client is innocent.