John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Disorder in the Court

By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Aug 15, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET

A new book, Disorder in the Court, jabs the legal practice with the verbatim words during legal proceedings as recorded by the legal reporter.

My favorite:

> ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

> WITNESS: No.

> ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?

> WITNESS: No.

> ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?

> WITNESS: No.

> ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

>WITNESS: No.

> ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

>WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

> ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

> WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.