***********
Judge: I know you, don't I?
Defendant: Uh, yes.
Judge: All right, tell me, how do I know you?
Defendant: Judge, do I have to tell you?
Judge: Of course, you might be obstructing justice
not to tell me.
Defendant: Okay. I was your bookie.
***********
From a defendant representing himself...
Defendant: Did you get a good look at me when I
stole your purse?
Victim: Yes, I saw you clearly. You are the
one who stole my purse.
Defendant: I should have shot you while I
had the chance.
***********
Judge: The charge here is theft of frozen chickens.
Are you the defendant?
Defendant: No, sir, I'm the guy who stole
the chickens.
***********
Lawyer: How do you feel about defense attorneys?
Juror: I think they should all be drowned at birth.
Lawyer: Well, then, you are obviously biased for
the prosecution.
Juror: That's not true. I think prosecutors
should be drowned at birth too.
***********
Lawyer questioning his client on the witness stand...
Plaintiff's Lawyer: What doctor treated you for
the injuries you sustained while at work?
Plaintiff: Dr. J.
Plaintiff's Lawyer: And what kind of physician is
Dr. J?
Plaintiff: Well, I'm not sure, but I remember that
you said he was a good plaintiff's doctor.
***********
Judge: Is there any reason you could not serve as
a juror in this case?
Juror: I don't want to be away from my job that
long.
Judge: Can't they do without you at work?
Juror: Yes, but I don't want them to know it.
***********
Lawyer: Tell us about the fight.
Witness: I didn't see no fight.
Lawyer: Well, tell us what you did see.
Witness: I went to a dance at the Turner house,
and as the men swung around and changed partners, they would slap each
other, and one fellow hit harder than the other one liked, and so the other
one hit back and somebody pulled a knife and someone else drew a six-shooter
and another guy came up with a rifle that had been hidden under a bed,
and the air was filled with yelling and smoke and bullets.
Lawyer: You, too were shot in the fracas?
Witness: No sir, I was shot midway between the fracas
and the navel.
***********
Defendant: Judge, I want you to appoint me
another lawyer.
Judge: And why is that?
Defendant: Because the Public Defender isn't interested
in my case.
Judge (to Public Defender): Do you have any comments
on the defendant's motion?
Public Defender: I'm sorry, Your Honor. I
wasn't listening.
***********
Judge: Please identify yourself for the record.
Defendant: Colonel Ebenezer Jackson.
Judge: What does the "Colonel" stand for?
Defendant: Well, it's kinda like the "Honorable"
in front of your name. Not a damn thing.
***********
Judge: You are charged with habitual drunkeness.
Have you anything to say in your defense?
Defendant: Habitual thirstiness?
***********
Defendant (after being sentenced to 90 days in jail):
Can I address the court?
Judge: Of course.
Defendant: If I called you a son of a bitch, what
would you do?
Judge: I'd hold you in contempt and assess an additional
five days in jail.
Defendant: What if I thought you were a son of a
bitch?
Judge: I can't do anything about that. There's
no law against thinking.
Defendant: In that case, I think you're a son of
a bitch.