". . . bias, race, language"

About 25 lawyers in Fukuoka participated in a training workshop I conducted about effective opening statements. I devised a sample fact pattern in which foreigners were accused by two Japanese women of raping them. The lawyers divided up into four groups and worked for 30 minutes coming up with opening statements. Then lawyers from each group presented them. I was incredibly impressed. The lawyers created compelling stories and suggested why the men may have been falsely accused and the resulting confession unreliable. As one lawyer said, "This is not a case about rape. This is a case about bias, race, and language."