Lawyers, What Was Your “Oh Crap” Moment in Court?

lawyers of reddit what was your oh crap moment in court sat in on a personal injury case where the plaintiff broke their leg in an accident and had a doctor on the stand as an expert the woman's lawyer begins questioning the doctor about their experience with leg injuries he was a well-known orthopedic surgeon in the area she asks if he's ever treated a tibular fracture the leg bones are tibia and fibula to which he only answers no then she starts grilling him with questions about the tibula after about six seven questions she asks how did you get to medical listens and have been able to practice medicine this long if you've never treated a tibula fracture and begins a small rant about going after his credentials and those that gave it to him to which he simply responds there is no bone named the tibula the lawyer became beat red and everyone in the room tried their best to keep from laughing including the judge oh god i can feel the second hand embarrassment i was representing a plaintiff in a hit-and-run case plaintiff is testifying and is despite me preparing them for several hours the previous day an absolutely terrible witness for her own case like she couldn't even identify the street she was crossing when she was hit by the car it was a major highway and we had gone through the sequence of events countless times the day before the hearing the oh crap moment came during cross-examination defense counsel pulls out a picture of my client dressed up and ready to hit the club which was posted to facebook the day after the alleged accident i thinking quickly object because the time stamp refers to when it was posted not when it was taken defense counsel showed the picture to my client and asked her when the picture was taken sure enough they say it was taken the day after the accident when she was supposedly in unbearable pain oh crap not your fault good thing it happened too it means justice is served when i was in college i was a bailiff guy is on trial for murder first witness testified that she saw the defendant shoot the victim second witness states the same police officer testimony is that he arrived at the scene and defendant was there holding the gun coroner testimony is that the first bullet hit the victim in the arm the second bullet hit the victim in the torso and the third bullet hit the victim in the heart which was the fatal shot defendant yells out see that proves that i didn't kill him i only shot the mother sucker twice uk bear with me on this one i was in court listening to the most boring old defense lawyer you've ever seen he was questioning the arresting officer in the case it was drugs or something like that anyway he's droning on about every little detail and the magistrate was constantly telling him to hurry along the arresting officer was getting noticeably annoyed and the room became empty pretty quick everyone was very bored and annoyed he was droning about details that i'm not sure anyone was really listening to or cared about anyway he went over arrest times and the likes with the officer time he admitted the suspect and released him he had bored the officer to the point where he was barely paying attention so he was admitted in at 21 45 on the night in question yes comma and release the night after yes comer and that was what just after 10 p.m yes what time after 10 i don't know quarter past 10 maybe so my client was detained for more than 24 hours wait the penny dropped the officer let his guard down and had revealed he kept the defendant for more than 24 hours which is the max time for detention in the uk the defense rested and the magistrate threw the case out immediately well played sir well played i think this qualifies though it wasn't me that was the lawyer god called for jury duty was at the jury selection phase and they asked if anyone here thinks they should not blah blah defendant was in the room i raised my hand the defending lawyer looked at me like oh this ought to be good and asked me to explain i suggested i tell them in private he insisted i tell the courtroom i said okay i probably shouldn't be on this jury because i was on a previous jury for this man which returned a guilty verdict lawyer's face went oh crap commotion and await while they looked up records yep verified whole jury was now tainted everyone goes home and they start over i was interning for a judge we were in the middle of voir dire for what was frankly not that exciting of a criminal case half-day trial expected not salacious details or violence or anything 75 potential jurors in the room and when my judge didn't let a guy out of jury duty because he'd have to pick up his kids that guy proceeded to say in front of everyone that if he was made to show up next week he'd make it the shortest trial ever and find him guilty right out of the gate my judge was an incredibly even keel guy nothing shook him or got to rise out of him and he was an expert at figuring out what he wanted to say in the most neutral fashion possible before he said it conversations with him took forever because there was a pause before every sentence but then but then this guy poisons an entire jury pool of 75 people we had to individually question each person to see if that little outburst was going to affect their impartiality etc 75 in camera interviews later judge pulls the guy back in in front of everybody and begins to scream at him about disrespecting him the courts and every other jurors time me the attorneys and the court reporter go whiteface because we didn't know this was coming the guy didn't have to sit for jury duty but i still don't know if he got to pick his kids up since he spent a couple days in jail for contempt this is probably why the couple jury selections i've been and they dismissed everyone at the first hint that person seemed like they didn't want to be there including the guy who signed loudly then walked shaking his head to the jury box when his name was called judge instantly moved for his dismissal i was involved in a pretty messy custody case the other party was a mess and had kept the child from my client for a few weeks op was playing lots of stupid games and kept requesting continuances i requested a drug test which the judge ordered however the op didn't show up for it to clarify he did show up he just stood in front of the toilet for literally two hours and claimed he couldn't pee i was representing the plaintiff so the burden was on me i called multiple witnesses that testified to the defendant's drug use so opposing counsel decides to call their client for direct examination and asks you don't use h and crack right that is for the non-lawyers a very stupid question for many reasons especially considering his client didn't show up for his drug test however i fully expected the defendants to just lie and say he was clean after the question was asked there was a really long pause and the defendant said yes i do both of those drugs my head almost exploded i didn't ask any questions on cross-examination because i didn't want to muddy the waters i won and the child is doing great i genuinely don't understand how people are this stupid not mine but my boss is one she had to defend a small time delinquent as duty solicitor before going to court he asked her what he should do she explained to him if he was cooperative and truthful his sentence would be milder after hearing the case the judge asked him if he wanted to add something he got up and explained to the judge my counsel told me to be truthful so i wanted to tell you that i not only did the robbery i'm being heard for but also several others in the region he continued to admit to several robberies that had been unsolved yet and everyone even the state attorney were fascinating i suspect the truth did not set him free mine actually happened while i was sitting in the jury pool during via dire the case was a double homicide and the jury pool filled the entire courtroom if you are not familiar with via dire it is when the lawyers ask the potential jurors questions to determine who they want to sit on the jury and who they want to exclude it is a long and boring process for almost everyone involved but 9 stroke 10 it's the most important stage in a case so the lawyers are asking us questions and if that question applied to you you raised your hand and they handed you a microphone to answer the question the question asked was do you or anyone you know have prior knowledge of this case so this elder gentleman raised his hand is handed the mic and proceeds to say yeah i work at a police station as a janitor and i heard two detectives talking about him points to defendant and they were saying he was about as guilty as sin we all kind of stared open mouth like this guy and i started chuckling because i couldn't believe what i was seeing naturally the defense attorney asked to approach the bench followed quickly the by the state prosecutor after some quick and energetic whispering the judge addressed the man do you realize what you just did you potentially poisoned this entire jury pool i will be calling your boss and you will be hearing about this you can count on that you are dismissed sir but this isn't over the man was escorted out and then the judge addressed the remaining jury pool which was still in a mostly packed room now i want you all to disregard what that man just said i'm sure if any of you were ever accused of a crime like this you would want a fair trial and not be condemned based on the words of one old man i have been in court many times since but never have i seen that level of downright jaw-dropping absurdity again literally the first thing i ever did was just a law student in turn guy has a legit defense on a drug possession case drugs found in a jacket guy wasn't wearing jacket they were going to have a very difficult time proving the jacket belonged to my guy had a long meeting with client explained everything client was excited day of the preliminary hearing guy shows up and sits down directly in front of the officer who arrested him while wearing the jacket in question the exact same jacket we were going to say they couldn't prove belonged to him not in court bits at a tribunal and also i was plaintiff suing for wrongful termination my rep so you terminated him because he was ill employer yes mr and he was ill because he is disabled employer yes mr so you fired someone for being disabled employer yes was in court for a directions hearing the judge was already in a bad mood and asked why we were here for such a seemingly pointless litigation without giving details he was right the barrister starts to make our case and i am taking note about areas we need to further explore when i hear excuse emmy why were you so rewarded to emmy the client who had been told to not come had come to court that day and was evidently incensed by the judge questioning the merit of their case they berated the judge for about three minutes with me and my counsel first stunned and then trying to shut them up before he adjourned the hearing but the case did not go very well to my client surprise and fury big sigh ahahahahahaha those are always the ones who are totally shocked when it doesn't go their way not me but my former law partner she was in court representing a client i think in a hearing for a restraining order against her soon-to-be ex-husband our client was telling the judge that when they met to exchange the children for visitation the ex had kicked her he immediately angrily shouted she can't prove it i didn't leave a mark thanks buddy there was something like this on judge judy when she was asking the plaintiff about items stolen from her bag the defendant quickly jumped in and said something in particular wasn't in said bag busted probably the funniest one i ever came across happened to a colleague we were prosecutors then 18-year-old defendant applying for bail he needed a residential address and got his dad to show up at court to confirm that the family home was available to him defense lawyer gets old dad to confirm that son can stay at family home dad says yes my fellow prosecutor gets up and asks dad do you really want him home dad goes off the deep end jesus the grief he's brought me and his mother out all hours taking drugs hiding stolen property in the garage all night parties i'm on antidepressants and the wife's had a nervous breakdown dad goes off on one for five solid minutes as the defendant gets taken back to the cells he calls out thanks dad i owe you one two moments in a dui trial one passenger is testifying for drivers sobriety when the door asks her you keep saying he was sober but are you even tip certified of course for bartenders so they can recognize drunk patrons she was two the head of the county's blood lab accidentally admitted he cranked the sensitivity of his machine's way up because he was experimenting on two thanks krieger obligatory i know but in a pre mediation meeting once for an uninsured motorist claim an insured had alleged that she couldn't walk without the aid of a cane and had a pronounced limp after an accident due to a low back injury and a shooting pain in her right leg the doctor notes didn't support anything but a subjective injury after a few weeks but she was still treating two years later and going to new physicians so we had her followed covertly to see if she was really using the cane and had a limp etc we got footage of her carrying like four grocery bags in each arm to her car in a walmart parking lot walking perfectly fine when she got to her car she even opened the trunk of her suv without putting any bags down and lifted the gate with her knee pathway her elderly mother was with her using a particularly decorative purple cane with a flower pattern on it they followed her to a doctor appointment an hour later and she's on video using her mother's cane and walking with a limp that would give forrest gump a run for his money i never did follow up on how that played in the mediation but i can only imagine it gave some attorney an oh crap moment my grandfather was a pie it's amazing how freaking dumb people are when it comes to insurance fraud person i was representing was on trial for assault and the third degree in dui in my state a3 means you've assaulted an aid worker or police officer and is a felony the allegations are that he was very verbally abusive to the officers and at one point kicked one in the face we're sitting at the defendant's table and the officer is testifying about the statements my guy made to him including some pretty horrific name calling out of nowhere my client screams your freaking liar frick you you son of a bee but we lost the trial another time the judge asked a client whether anyone had coerced him into pleading guilty and he said yeah my attorney i about crap my pants but he laughed and said i'm joking number not a lawyer but a defendant as a teenager i got busted with a couple of buddies throwing eggs at cars we were only actually in the courtroom for our sentencing there was no trial the judge called each of us up individually to ask us if we had anything to say one of my friends tells the judge that he is a good kid who doesn't normally do things like this lie we used to do it all the time and that i was just in the wrong place at the wrong time i wish there was a video of my other friend and i sitting in the benches watching this happen but we simultaneously dropped our heads into our hands because we couldn't believe that idiot just said that the judge was not pleased and she took the opportunity to remind him that going to a store buying eggs going to another location across town and then throwing those eggs at cars was not just being in the wrong place at the wrong time i am sorry your honor ayah i didn't know i couldn't do that i'm not a lawyer but i was a character witness for my childhood dog in a civil trial between our neighbors and my parents opposing council was questioning me i wasn't even out of elementary school at the time and he asked if our dog was aggressive she was a rottweiler and very loving and incredibly protective of me and my siblings his final question to me is one i will never forget he asked did your father tell you what to say before you came into court today i responded yes then he asked what did he tell you to say i said the truth now i was too young to remember the courtroom reaction but according to my father the judge audibly go forward in the opposing council lost all the wind out of his sails character witness for my dog has me smiling they're so loyal to us we should return the favor i was at a hearing arguing that my client was wrongfully terminated because the employer failed to abide by the proper procedures during the hearing a witness for the employer tried to offer documents that were fraudulently altered in order to make it look like the proper procedure was followed i noticed the alteration opposing council quickly got that witness out of the room and after a quick adjournment my client got a large settlement late to the party here but as a law student we were allowed to make court appearances under the supervision of an assistant district attorney i was doing arraignments and my ada said don't talk to the judge unless he asks you a specific question so the judge and the defense attorney were going back and forth about when the next court date would be the judge wanted a specific date let's say 4 stroke 20 the defense attorney was adamant that she couldn't do that date in my file i had a calendar with a big x over 4 stroke 20 saying do not schedule the judge and defense attorney go back and forth for several minutes the judge wanted four stroke 20 and the defense attorney saying no i was keeping my mouth shut because the judge hadn't asked me directly finally the defense attorney relents and agrees to 4 stroke 20 the judge turns to me and says do the people agree with 4 stroke 20 at which point i say sorry your honor but we cannot schedule for 4 stroke 20 the judge looked at me for a second and then just ripped into me mister jones one you just heard me and the defense go back and forth for several minutes about a date you knew the people can do do you like wasting the court's time it went on like that for a few minutes him just berating me in front of about 200 people in a court in brooklyn finally after me apologizing profusely and him giving me a withering glare we moved on and went to the next case at the next break the judge said mr jones one please approach the bench i thought i was really in for it then i walked up beside the bench the judge came down to talk to me and said with a big smile don't worry about it i was just giving you a hard time welcome to brooklyn criminal court opposing counsel was a nightmare everything late his work was extremely subpar and so forth accused me of lying multiple times when he had dropped the ball during another hearing in which he did another dumb move judge says i'm glad you are the last case on the call and all of the other attorneys have left the room so they aren't here to hear me say that you are a terrible attorney not a lawyer but i witnessed my ex-wife try to argue with the judge that she couldn't be accused of kidnapping our daughter because our daughter was legally emancipated not a spoiler she wasn't at the time of the kidnapping my ex had legal statutes written on small sheets of paper she had torn out of books in the jail library and she kept arguing with the judge after being told that none of it mattered after the fifth time my ex interrupted the judge with her nonsense the judge slammed her hands down stood up leaned over her bench and told my ex that she had been a juvenile court judge for 20 years and was well aware of the statutes if she interrupted one more time then she would be held in contempt and spent several months more in jail my lawyer held up his folder in front of his face to hide his grin during this exchange i walked out with full legal and physical custody of my daughter court supervised visitation for my ex and a full restraining order two high-profile men on trial for killing another guy both ex-cops from the 80s a notorious time in our country for police corruption the first trial had been aborted after one barrister had made a casual comment that the other accused had already killed two or three people second attempt was six weeks into an expected 10-week retrial all of the networks and papers were covering this trial the gallery was always packed with law students because of the many uniquely horrific aspects of the trial so we're six weeks into the retrial defense one gets up to cross-examine a witness did you know of accused murderer one yes he was a cop and a drug dealer in the 80s the court basically exploded the judge immediately issued a non-publication order meaning there was an embargo on all information from that day it was early afternoon but the judge excused the jury for the day then spent the next day and a half deliberating over whether to abandon the trial over halfway through and for the second time the best oh crap moments are when your opposing counsel or opposing client says or does something that wins the case for you true in civil cases you usually know what will happen ahead of time but in my state discovery and smaller civil cases is more limited and clients don't always want to spend 30k dollars when we can get the same result for 10k dollars in an adverse possession case the witness only needed to say i use that area as my backyard and i fully expected him to say this it would harm my case but i knew i could get around it when asked about his use of the area he said no i never really went back there didn't use it at all lost the case for the other side and i could barely keep a straight face it was completely opposite of what the witness had told opposing counsel off the record apparently the under penalty of perjury made him change his story i had another case about losing multi-unit dwelling insurance because a guy's place was a fire hazard i asked him if his personal insurer knew about the fire hazard yeah and the jerks cancelled my policy i also love it when i have a difficult party on the other side and the judge rips them a new one i had a convoluted case with a lot of parties about nothing at all the plaintiff was heinous the six or seven attorneys were working out calendars with the judge when the plaintiff starts yelling at her attorney from across the courtroom because she didn't like that he had conceded some little non-issue judge told her to sit down and shut up i was sad that the case settled because she wouldn't have been amazing on the stand coma i also love it when i have a difficult party on the other side and the judge rips them a new one we call that getting bench slapped not exactly in court but i was defending a juvenile robbery case where there was very little evidence there was supposed to be two guys but they only picked up this one kid he had no stolen property on him he was picked up like outside his own house wearing different clothes than the victim had initially said this kid was on the honor roll at school his family seemed kind and were involved he wrote poetry and played instruments i actually believed it was a legit mistaken identity case i went to meet with one of the kids mentors for a character reference and he exactly matched the description of the other robber i was the dumbass that almost screwed myself i had two charges in two different chords i accepted the first plea which almost always carries probation but my plea didn't have that condition when it came time to accept the second plea the prosecutor didn't include probation because she assumed my first charge put me on probation she said as much to the judge and me being a big dummy almost corrected her my lawyer grabbed my shoulder and i crap you not told me to shut the frick up she doesn't know you almost became that kid that reminds the teacher about homework or an essay that's due if you are new to the channel you can subscribe i publish new videos every day until then check another video bye for now

Channel: Updoot

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Keywords: lawyer, lawyer vs cop, lawyer day in the life, lawyer reacts, oh crap moments, oh crap moments in court, lawyers stories, #updootst, updoot, updoot reddit, updoot everything, reddit on tap, toadfilms, pewdiepie, reddit, askreddit, funny reddit, reddit stories, top posts, reddit top posts, reddit cringe, comedy, reddit compilation, r/askreddit, top posts of r/, askreddit reading, best reddit posts, top posts of all time, people of reddit, askreddit question, ask reddit, subreddit, sub

Id: YWtYaROMxWU

Length: 25min 5sec (1505 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 24 2020