Tell a lawyer joke, go to jail?

[BobK]

Pair arrested outside Long Island courthouse The Associated Press Updated: 3:03 p.m. ET Jan. 12, 2005 MEPSTEAD, N.Y. -
Did you hear the one about the two guys arrested for telling lawyer jokes?
It happened this week to the founders of a group called Americans for Legal Reform, who were waiting in line to get into a Long Island courthouse.
“How do you tell when a lawyer is lying?� Harvey Kash reportedly asked Carl Lanzisera.
“His lips are moving,� they said in unison.
While some waiting to get into the courthouse giggled, a lawyer farther up the line Monday was not laughing. He told them to pipe down, and when they did not, the lawyer reported the pair to court personnel, who charged them with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

Boy! I sure hope there is more reason for the charge than simply telling a lawyer joke in public. Comedians beware!

Oops. Edit to add link (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6818054/)

[Tmy]

Hmmm what would a couple of guys from 'Americans for Legal Reform" be doing in a courthouse? I know, CAUSING TROUBLE! THeyre a bunch of woo woo kooks.

They wanted to get in trouble so they can continue complaining about the system.

[Skeptic]

I THINK--not certain--that the issue here is different.

Lawyers, judges, and other officers of the court (or whatever the exact term is) have certain official protection in the fulfillment of their duties--e.g., when in court. It is illegal to do things like "insult their dignity" or "libel" them (again, I am not a lawyer so I don't know the exact terms) when they are in court.

The origins of these protections are obscure. But, yes, it could be illegal, not just rude, to tell lawyers' jokes in court. I doubt the law is often applied--I bet lawyers tell lawyer jokes to each other all the time, even in court--but in this case they decided to "throw the book" at these guys, probably because they were making a nuisance of themselves even without the jokes. (And it wasn't a funny one, either.)

But again, I could be wrong.

[Cleon]

I dunno. Some lawyer jokes are really, really bad.

[Luke T.]

Boy. The joke in the OP is almost as old as "What do you call a busload of lawyers driving off a 100 foot cliff?"

[Iamme]

What's the difference between a carp and a lawyer?

























One is a bottom-feeding scum sucker. The other is a fish.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Like most of these types of stories, I suspect we don't have all the facts. They were "outside" of court, but were they perhaps yelling so loudly that they were disrupting a trial? I would suspect most folks charged with disorderly conduct would claim that they "weren't doing anything wrong".

[TillEulenspiegel]

Well I dunno.................
"First thing we do is kill all the lawyers" attributed to Shakespeare's, Henry BUT was an actual paraphrase from James a distant progenitor.

A fool was a member of the court , so was a buffoon and a poltroon. They could critique the honor of the King and his court with impunity. Likewise they could be whipped by vicious barbs , and none were thrown in the tower.
So nothing has changed except the fact that we may be thrown in the lockholds for making fun of fools. Making their enterprise more subject to satire.
Which belongs more in Adams coin purse then Franklin's.

[Kerberos]

Originally posted by Luke T.
Boy. The joke in the OP is almost as old as "What do you call a busload of lawyers driving off a 100 foot cliff?"
A good start?

What's the difference between and accident an a catastrophy?




















An accident is if a busload of layers fall of a bridge, a catastrophy is if they can swim.

[hgc]

Originally posted by TillEulenspiegel
Well I dunno.................
"First thing we do is kill all the lawyers" attributed to Shakespeare's, Henry BUT was an actual paraphrase from James a distant progenitor.

...
The line is spoken by Dick the Butcher, a rebellion leader, not the king.

[NoZed Avenger]

All those making jokes on this thread have been reported and will be sent for re-education.




Remember, people: Right thinking will be rewarded; Wrong thinking will be punished.




Be seeing you.

[Number Six]

You're locked in a room with a lion, a tiger and a lawyer and you have a gun with only two bullets in it. What do you do?

[kalen]

Originally posted by Number Six
You're locked in a room with a lion, a tiger and a lawyer and you have a gun with only two bullets in it. What do you do?

One bullet for yourself (because you're stupid enough to get into a situation like that) and one for the lawyer, but not necessarily in that order.

[Kerberos]

Originally posted by kalen
One bullet for yourself (because you're stupid enough to get into a situation like that) and one for the lawyer, but not necessarily in that order.
Nah, you shot the layer twice to make sure he's dead. ;)

[Psi Baba]

Originally posted by Kerberos
Nah, you shot the layer twice to make sure he's dead. ;)
BLAM! "Hey, I think this lawyer's dead, but I'm not sure."
"Well, be sure that he's dead."
BLAM! "He's dead now."

[Lucky]

By the way, did you know that some of our University research departments (Medicine, Psychology etc.) are looking into using lawyers as a substitute for rats? The benefits are: first, there are more of them; second, you can become fond of rats; and third, there are some things rats can’t be persuaded to do.

[Iamme]

Keep 'em coming! There's some good ones here.

(Oh, ohhhh...who's knocking at my door? Got to go!!! It's some internet police accompanied by some lawyer! :eek: )

[Iamme]

Our phone book has a separate section with just lawyer listings in it. Tons of them! What does *that* tell you?