ABSTRACT
Some arguments burst onto the scene at just the right time. The advocate finds a perfect fit between the argument and the occasion for making it. Constructing the appropriate setting to capture an opportune moment may take time. In contrast, inopportune moments can sink the best of arguments. Thinking in terms of kairos can guide advocates in their search for opportune moments. In its ideal form, kairos captures or creates a turning point. The value of developing a kairic sense of timing is supported as well by contemporary rhetorical theory. Judges themselves often seem to be employing kairos to create both opportune and essential moments. Justice Roberts's movement through the opening he created emphasized the crucial interplay of audience, time, place, and opportunity for action. Kairos is a different kind of the time shifting that depends on identifying turning points.
