Current through August 12, 2025 (2026 Practice Book edition) · Last verified July 9, 2026
In one sentenceThis section sets the order in which parties present evidence and argument at trial, giving the plaintiff the case-in-chief and both opening and final closing arguments, with the defendant answering in between.
(a)Unless the judicial authority for cause permits otherwise, the parties shall proceed with the trial and argument in the following order:
(1)The plaintiff shall present a case-in-chief.
(2)The defendant may present a case-in-chief.
(3)The plaintiff and the defendant may present rebuttal evidence in successive rebuttals, as required. The judicial authority for cause may permit a party to present evidence not of a rebuttal nature, and if the plaintiff is permitted to present further evidence-in-chief, the defendant may respond with further evidence-in-chief.
(4)The plaintiff shall be entitled to make the opening and final closing arguments.
(5)The defendant may make a single closing argument following the opening argument of the plaintiff.
(b)If there are two or more plaintiffs or two or more defendants and they do not agree as to their order of proceeding, the judicial authority shall determine their order.
Amendment History
(P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 295.)
Plain-English Summary
Unless the judicial authority allows a different sequence for cause, trial follows a fixed order. The plaintiff presents a case-in-chief first, then the defendant may present one. After that, the parties may offer rebuttal evidence in successive rounds, and the judicial authority may, for cause, permit evidence beyond rebuttal — if the plaintiff gets to add further evidence-in-chief, the defendant may respond in kind.
Argument follows the same pattern: the plaintiff opens and also gets the final closing argument, while the defendant makes one closing argument sandwiched between the plaintiff’s opening and the plaintiff’s final close. When a case has multiple plaintiffs or multiple defendants who cannot agree on their own order of proceeding, the judicial authority decides it for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who argues last at a Connecticut civil trial under Section 15-5?
The plaintiff does. The plaintiff opens the argument and also makes the final closing argument, with the defendant’s single closing argument in between.
Can a party offer evidence beyond rebuttal after the case-in-chief stage?
Yes, but only if the judicial authority permits it for cause, and if the plaintiff is allowed further evidence-in-chief, the defendant may respond with further evidence-in-chief as well.
What happens when there are multiple plaintiffs or defendants who disagree on order of proceeding?
The judicial authority determines the order when co-parties cannot agree among themselves.
Source & verification. The section text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Connecticut Practice Book (Conn. Practice Book § 15-5). Prescribed by the Judges of the Superior Court of Connecticut (Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 51-14). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:order of proceeding at trial CTwho argues first and last Connecticut trialplaintiff case-in-chief orderrebuttal evidence order Connecticutclosing argument sequence civil trial