[1580] in Humor
HUMOR: You looked! Not!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (abennett@MIT.EDU)
Fri Aug 30 10:31:42 1996
From: <abennett@MIT.EDU>
To: humor@MIT.EDU
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 1996 10:25:12 EDT
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 23:03:41 -0800
From: connie@interserve.com (Connie Kleinjans)
From: geri@Rational.COM
Scene: A court room in Oklahoma where a person is on trial for murder.
There is strong evidence indicating guilt; however, there is no corpse.
In the defense's closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client
is guilty and that it looks like he'll probably be convicted, resorts to
a clever trick.
``Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all,'' the
lawyer says as he looks at his watch. 'Within 1 minute, the person
presumed dead in this
case will walk into this court room,' he says and he looks toward the
courtroom door. The jury, somewhat stunned, all look on eagerly. A
minute passes.
Nothing happens.
Finally the lawyer says: 'Actually, I made up the previous statement.
But you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you
that there is reasonable
doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you
return a verdict of not guilty.'
The jury, clearly confused, retires to deliberate.
A very few minutes later, the jury returns and a representative
pronounces a verdict of guilty.
"But how?" inquires the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all
of you stare at the door."
Answers the representative: "Oh, we did look. But your client didn't."
