Dick Deguerin begins the opening statement in the defense of Robert Durst against the charge that he murdered Susan Berman. DeGuerin's opening in many ways telegraphs a reprise of his three-pronged strategy in defense of Durst the charge of murdering Morris Black in Galveston, Texas: 1) make the jury feel empathy for Durst with what he once called a "Poor Little Rich Boy" narrative; 2) blame the Media (in this instance the makers of The Jinx) and an aggressive prosecutor (in this case, Deputy DA John Lewin) for demonizing Durst; and 3) have Durst present a plausible narrative that he shot Black in self-defense in the course of a struggle of a gun. DeGuerin tells the jury that Durst will testify on his own behalf as he did in Galveston. That strategy got Durst acquitted of the murder charges against him in Texas. But will that strategy work on a Los Angeles jury, and are DeGuerin's legendary skills as a litigator at the same level that they were nearly two decades ago?

In the penultimate episode of Season 1, David Chesnoff takes over the defense team's opening statement and establishes his mantra for the day: "No evidence is evidence." By this he suggests that the jurors should lean into their desire for forensic evidence in assessing Robert Durst's culpability, and if they find such evidence lacking, they should consider that to be evidence in and of itself. Chesnoff then tries to pick apart portions of the prosecution's narrative of what happened to Kathie Durst and Susan Berman. He suggests to the jurors that there is an absence of forensic evidence to prove the case against Robert Durst beyond a reasonable doubt.