20 Times People Screwed Themselves Over in Court

‘The witness corrected him and told him which bottle was the real poison’
20 Times People Screwed Themselves Over in Court

If you’re going to commit a crime, it’s important that you don’t bring evidence to court. A Redditor remembered the time a man went to court to dispute a burglary charge — wearing exactly what he was wearing when he was caught on camera the night of the crime.

Another Redditor had a similar story — he represented a man who was accused of stealing three trucks from work. Two of the vehicles were recovered before trial, and the third was also recovered… when the man drove it to a motion hearing. It’s like they watched a documentary about the world’s dumbest criminals and said, “Hold my beer.” 

Other Redditors have shared the times they watched someone screw themselves over in court, including one guy who showed up naked.

 5y ago My mate went through a divorce. His to be ex-wife was in a new relationship and the new guy was calling all the shots. She had been happy with the money she was getting and visitation my mate was getting but new guy wanted to screw him over so it turned into lawyer war. The outcome in court was the judge ruled my mate was to a £1,000 a month less than he was already which he quite happily did for his troubles. Не put the extra money into a fund for the kids to used to
Grundy9999 5y ago Not my case but happened to a friend. A criminal defendant freaked out in jail and did not want to appear at sentencing hearing. I guess he did not want the bad news of how many years in prison he was going to get. So he took off his clothes in the jail cell and refused to get dressed. Не apparently thought that this would delay his sentencing. Judge had him hauled into court naked, and sentenced him. I don't think the defendant received the benefit of any doubts.... 143 ...
lawtinaaa 5y ago Edited 5y ago I spent a summer as an intern doing narcotics work. You'd be surprised how much information defendants and their friends/family share over prison telephone calls, even when the line informs you the line is being monitored and recorded before the call begins. That said, a defendant maintained he was an innocent uber driver and was not in the business of selling drugs... meanwhile he was telling his wife over the phone that they needed to figure out how to move 3 kilos of cocaine so they could afford the lawyer to represent him. Needless
etherag 5y ago Not a lawyer, but I was a jury foreman on a case about 5 years back. Guy was accused of attempting to kill his girlfriend. Various charges up and down the severity were filed. However, victims testimony wasn't terribly convincing, especially after cross, and there was only evidence that something had happened in the house that night, but not necessarily that the BF had done it. Anyway, defenses turn to present, and they unexpectedly recess for the day. We come back the next day, and the defendant testifies. Не puts himself at the scene, and admits to
 5y ago In a case where a semitruck driver ran over and killed a grandma and her daughter (leaving 2 kids without any family), the defense attorney said: really, the semitruck driver is the victim here because he has to live with what he is done. + 1.5K ...
notjawn 5y ago My dad was a judge and had someone on trial for DUI. Guy would not stop running his mouth and was trash talking everyone in the room. Не instructed him to stop. Dude did not stop. Dad placed him in contempt of court for 90 days. Dude gets out, goes back to trial. First thing, he starts running his mouth again. Boom. Another 90 days in jail for contempt. 180 days in jail when a DUI in our state is only 60 days for his level of DUI. + 852 ...
ButternutSquawk 5y ago Paralegal here- we had a client show up to court ordered mediation several hours late... straight from a lake trip. Part of my job is to call clients a day or two before these kinds of things to remind them of the importance of the hearing. I told her specifically It is vital that you show up on time, dressed appropriately. When she did show up my boss took one look at her and said you understand we have to take whatever offer they give us, right? Because there is no way I'm taking you to trial.
 5y ago Not a lawyer but a friend of mine was going through a divorce and his lawyer kept putting off the trial. Не just wanted it over with but the lawyer said trust me this is going to be good. Turns out dudes wife was pregnant with another mans baby. When they went to court she had a big baby bump. The judge asked if all three kids were his and she replied no just those two. Wish I could have seen the look on her lawyers face. 582 ...
lightmonkey 5y ago My mom at one point was an attorney for NYTransit and told me about several cases where someone leaned forward to see if the subway was coming only to be hit by the train. She had one such case where a man was decapitated. She offered a settlement to the widow, an amount that obviously wouldn't bring her husband back but was a lot of money especially for this family. This was not the case for the amount her representation would get, as they were a prominent NYC law firm. They wanted more for their firm and
219Infinity 5y ago Lady brought a frivolous case to get out of a contract she signed. She lost, then sued the attorney and the witnesses for conspiring against her. They got her case dismissed and an award of attorneys fees which she refused to pay. Lawyer recorded it as a lien on her house and scheduled a foreclosure sale, which caused her mortgage lender to declare a default and accelerate entire mortgage balance. Lawyer made a side deal with lender to pay them all proceeds of the sale and then sold her house on courthouse steps to highest bidder and
Boxish_ 5y ago o As an Ace Attorney, I saw an attorney tell a witness that a bottle of not poison was a bottle of poison that has the witnesses fingerprints and the witness corrected him and told him which bottle was the real poison. + 69 ...
Thencewasit 5y ago A wife filed for a restraining order because she wanted the house during divorce. Husband has good job, like 200k per year. Employer finds out about restraining order, husband is fired. Не was very specialized employee so only job he can find close to to house, ex-wife, and daughter is 50k. House gets foreclosed. Child support at less than $500 per month. Wife has to get job as waitress. Four cars get repossessed. + 16K ...
Carcharodons 5y ago Was involved in a custody case where a wife cheated on her husband and had a child as a result. She let husband believe the child was his until she was about five years old and they were divorcing. To stop him from getting custody, she convinced the biological father to try to get custody thinking that if he won she would wind up with the child. Became a huge three way fight, multiple sets of grandparents involved, attorneys fees skyrocketed because the case would have been pretty quick otherwise. She couldn't pay her attorney, tried to
MrPGH 5y ago Sitting waiting for my client and the judge is giving a mass colloquy for an alternative program on a DUI. Basically probation. Question - Has anyone consumed alcohol or taken drugs in the last 24 hours? Obvious answer aside, one dude proudly raises his hand - I smoked some dope last night... Не did not get probation. + 18K ...
Lionel_Hutz_Law 5y ago . Edited 5y ago . Not the worst, but one that sticks out that they did to themselves. Woman shows up to court in a It's party time bitches! Drink up! t-shirt. She was there for her first appearance on a 3rd DUI charge. Judge was not in a humorous mood that day. + 31K ...
 5y ago I took my Ex to court because she had used my social security number to sign up for cable. I found out about it when she stopped paying for the service. She screwed herself over by just being herself. We show up to court, I turn in the contract from the cable company ,showing my social security number, and her own name signed on the contract. She didn't even try to forge my signiture, she signed her own name in and tried to deny that she had any part of it. The judge tore her apart and
Seinfeldologist 5y ago Not my case but still my favorite story. Dude screwed himself over when he went to jury trial for a burglary charge and wore the same, distinct sweatshirt he wore the night he committed the crime. Kind of hard to argue the guy in the video isn't your client at that point. Needless to say he was convicted and spent a few years in DOC. + 22K ...
Quaffle47 5y ago I had a client who was trying to get away from an abusive ex and filed for a restraining order. Не shows up to the final hearing and is making a big fuss about a truck that they bought during their marriage. Не said it was just his, and she had no rights to it because their marriage was void. I asked him on cross examination what he meant by that, and he said that he had already been married in another state when he married my client. Не said that my client had no idea, but
Wacocaine . 5y ago Represented a guy that stole three trucks from his work. Only two were recovered before trial. Не showed up to a motion hearing in the third one. + 1.6K ...
HaroldRichardJohnson 5y ago So my father in law had arrested someone for breaking and entering. During his arraignment the judge stopped for a moment and asked the defendant where he got his suit from. It turns out that the defendant was also responsible for a previously unsolved break-in at the judge's home and had shown up wearing one of the judge's stolen suits. 115 ...

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