If U.S.A. v. Apple Inc. were decided on the basis of opening day PowerPoint presentations, the government could have rested its case before the first witness was called.

The Department of Justice’s visual presentation (see link to pdf below) was like something you’d expect from Apple (AAPL). The slides were simple, to the point and thoughtfully laid out. Companies were logos. Alleged conspirators were business cards with heads shots. And when the narrative called for incriminating e-mails to be quoted, the key sentences were called out and blown up big enough to be seen from across a crowded court room.

Apple’s presentation was like something you’d expect from a government agency. The slides were humdrum, the text was too small to read, and whoever was running the show had trouble projecting the right image at the right time.

To be fair to Apple, the heart of its defense is a legal argument about the purpose and the language of U.S. antitrust law that doesn’t lend itself to so easily to visuals.

But that’s another story. See The DOJ is arguing the facts. Apple is arguing the Law.

Link: U.S. v. Apple et al Opening Slides 6-3-2013