Speech reporting in courtroom opening statements

•Investigates speech reporting in opening statements.•Identifies frequencies and functions of voices.•Shows that the monologic genre of the opening statement is highly heteroglossic and dialogic.•Explicates how lawyers negotiate different realities and make the opening statement argumentative.

This investigation critically analyzes the practice of speech reporting in the monologic genre of the opening statement. Drawing on the opening statements of three high-profile trials, this study analyzes the form, function, and frequency of reported utterances that manifest within the opening statement. The findings reveal that the opening statement is a highly heteroglossic genre, and the inclusion of voices is pragmatically motivated, serving five functions: narrative, evidential, disaligning, contextualizing, and discourse organizing. Reanimation of voices not only enables lawyers to create and negotiate different realities but also contributes to making the opening statement essentially argumentative.