These, allegedly (note how I used a legal term there), are from a book called Disorder in the Courts and are things people actually said in courts (U.S. ones presumably), word for word, taken down and published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking place.
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
_______________________________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
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ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
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ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
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ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
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ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget..
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
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ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
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ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ.
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ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
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ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid
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ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
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ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death..
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
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ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
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ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
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ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
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ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral...
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ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
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ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
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And last:
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
:)
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Brilliant!
I have a copy of one of Charles Sevilla's other books of US legal humour. No idea if they're true but they are very funny.
I also have a Scots Law equivalent but the author, title and current location of it all escape me for the moment!
Priceless !
I'd bet a lot of them ARE genuine.
Cheers - Phil
Well it made me laugh ;D ;D
;D :-bd
While these are funny its hard to determine their provenance; there never seems to be any source cited. I recall the "may be practicing law somewhere" story in a lecture about direct examination, but whether it was supposed to be true or not wasn't the point. I can well believe the stupid questions were asked though, there's a large spectrum of competence between lawyers.
The stunningly obvious question can be an easy trap to fall into for the unwary; the question has to be non-leading (it can't suggest the answer). Whose death ended your first marriage? can seem dopey, but the answer sought isn't my husband so much as my husband Jon Doe. The lawyer can't ask Your first marriage ended because Jon Doe died isn't that correct?
While many of the stupid things are believable, I am a bit more skeptical of the snappy answers.
Great, ;D ;D ;D ;D
;D ;D ;D
Having been a witness I'm inclined to agree with Clib's scepticism about some of the answers
Exactly; witnesses are generally pretty nervous, and anxious not to say the wrong thing. They tend to think levity will get them into trouble (it sure can), and are too concentrated on their evidence to come up with "zingers". Some professional witnesses such as coroners would be more relaxed, but still would take things seriously.
Personally, I don't care how true or not they are, they made me laugh and that's good enough.
MickS