Humour In Court!

[Tommy_Thumby]

We've been studying 'unusual' instances in court and they are received.

It got me wondering then - Making a joke in court should never go down well, but how about if someone such as a witness is unintentionally funny?

How about if a witness is recalling an incident which is crucial to the case, but there is a lighter side of it which cannot be avoided?

I know this was a nonsense question but it just had me thinking thats all. :)

[Tommy_Thumby]

...and how* they are received.

[browntrout]

I heard of one (probably an urban myth) where a motorist convicted of some offence or other - not involving any injury to anyone - was asked if he had anything to say before sentencing. He raised his wrist to his mouth and speaking into his watch said....... Beam me up Scottie.

[Zacs-Master]

You'll probably like these
http://www.tealdragon.net/humor/lists/courts.htm

[Peter Pedant]

This was a feature in R v Doddy - the tax criminal case featuring Ken Dodds who was represented by Geo Carman.

GC acted as a feed to Ken Dodd and the jury erupted at times with laughter. The judge called a halt to the process.

DOddy was acquitted but there was then the civil case on account
and the pains and penalries on the unpaid tax bill...

Doddy got off
and Geo Carman's career was made in civil jury trials - namely Libel
The rest as they say is History

[FredPuli43]

When barristers are called to the Bar they are, traditionally, given a slim volume covering professional etiquette and advocacy. The only bit of it that I could remember was the stern advice that humour had no place in the courtroom and I was to avoid it at all costs. I only remembered that because I promptly decided that that was one bit of advice that I would never follow, and I never did. Mostly that was humour applied to the circumstances and the evidence as it emerged, but even a joke, in the true sense, may be told if it illustrates a point you are making. The advocate has to be himself. If he is naturally serious he must be serious, if naturally humourous, humourous, and so on. And that applies whether prosecuting or defending. The late George Carman QC would not have had such a successful career had he not injected humour into his cases, for that was his nature.

I have known a few judges who injected humour, even in the summing up to the jury. HHJ Sir Harold Cassel QC, a natural renegade all his career, was very dangerous to whichever side he applied it when doing that, but he never got appealed for it. As I say, if it is natural to the individual, they should behave that way.

Witnesses often give answers which are amusing. I had one foreign defendant, in a case concerning sex with a minor, who said he always took precautions when having sex, using Dulux. It was difficullt for the jury to keep straight faces at this announcement, though they did try.

[FredPuli43]

A typical example: Defendant a drug dealer whose house had been raided, tries to explain the presence of sets of scales by saying that he was a Libra, the sign of the Scales,and people gave him scales on birthdays sometimes.

Puli, prosecuting: Really , Mr Smith? I am a Capricorn, but people don't give me goats ! [Laughter from jury]. It is as well, by your logic, that I was not born under the sign of the Crab !

[thugulike]

I sit in judgement on employment tribunal panels and have been known to 'drop my pencil' at such times. If a judge is displeased they will say so, they are all different. I could dine out of some of the funnies that I've heard but, of course, that would be breaching confidentiality

[emmie]

i was in one once when the girl in the dock lifted her skirts and bared her bottom to the judge, she was removed from the court with a burly police woman by her side, she had behaved oddly throughout, and the recommendation was she needed a psychiatric evaluation before he could pass judgement.