When Clients Sabotage Their Own Lawyers: 15 Shocking Courtroom Blunders You Won’t Believe

Friend of mine used to be a latent print analyst. Going to get prints of a suspect arrested for breaking into a home to rob it. While she’s getting the ink and paper set up, suspect shouts, “whaddya need the prints for? She looked right at me when I kicked in the door!”.

FjordReject , Berendey_Ivanov / Andrey_Kobysnyn Report

Paralegal. Once had a convicted criminal explain to me how their murder charge should be overturned because the victim didn’t die at the scene of the crime. The victim died at the hospital, therefore the defendant couldn’t be charged with anything more than attempted murder.

notreallylucy , August de Richelieu Report

I had an instructor who was a prosecutor. He called a witness who had seen the whole thing, and had an interest in seeing the defendent punished. Slam dunk case.

She thought she was on TV. She overacted EVERY WORD. Completely embellished the retelling of the events. Didn’t lie, but she was the center of her version of events.

He said you could see the faces of the jury members sour minute on minute. He lost the case.

shaidyn , Kelly Sikkema Report

Client added 9 years to a short sentence. He got like a year or 2 for being involved in a drag race that the other guy crashed and severely injured someone else. Then towards the end of his short prison term he tried to escape, got 9 more years for prison escape! He became friends with John Lennon’s killer in NY prison, which was interesting.

50yoWhiteGuy Report

Client returns to court drunk after luncheon adjournment. Falls asleep, and his head drops right into the side of the witness box, whereupon he proceeds to snore. Loudly.

j-manz , cottonbro studio Report

Pro bono VAWA case. Should have been a straightforward petition. Ran a FOIA search on the client before the final submission just in case. Turns out she had been deported from Guam and then while her immigration ban was still in place she entered the mainland US without status (= permanently ineligible for adjustment). When I asked why she had not disclosed this during intake, her response was: “Oh, I thought Guam was its own country and not part of the US, so it wouldn’t matter.” .

bureaucranaut , Lucie Rangel Report

Not in the US, but the judge asked if the defendant was remorseful (if you show regrets, you can have some leniency). “No”. The guy didn’t understand the question, and when he doesn’t, he just usually says “no”.

lowanddisorder , KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA Report