Why Lawyers should never ask a witness a question if they aren't

Why Lawyers should never ask a witness a question if they aren't
prepared
for the answer...





In a trial, a Southern small town prosecuting attorney

called his first witness to the stand.

The witness was a grand motherly, elderly woman. He approached her and
asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?"She responded, "Why, yes I do know
you,
Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy, and frankly,
you've

been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you
manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think
you're a

big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount
to
anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you."

The Lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across
the
room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defence attorney?"

She again replied, "Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was
a
youngster, too.He's lazy, bigoted and he has a drinking problem. He
can't
build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of
the
worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with
three
different women, one of them was your wife. Yes, I know him."
The defence attorney almost died.The judge asked both counsellors to
approach
the bench, and in a very quiet voice, said, "If either of you bastards
asks
her, if she knows me, I'll throw you in jail for contempt."