'[My] client added 9 years to a short sentence': 20+ Times lawyers couldn't stop their clients from ruining their own cases

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Dec 19, 2024 5:00 PM EST

Be careful what you say while you're in court… It may seem like common sense, but many people can't help but mouth off to the judge during their legal case. No one wants to be in court, obviously, but that is not the time or place to start an argument with the judge or your lawyer. 

As the lawyers of the internet explained, their clients often choose the exact wrong time to blurt out new information. As they take the stand, some people will just admit to their actions, leading them to longer sentences. For some reason, people won't tell their lawyers the whole story. Then when they get to the courtroom, they reveal things under cross-examination, surprising their lawyer. That lawyer can't help the client if they don't have all the facts! 

Instead of being on their best behavior, other people choose to act out. One dude fell asleep in court, which didn't exactly win over the judge in his case. A different woman had an open-and-shut case. But when she got to the stand, she began acting as if she was in a TV show, being way too dramatic. It turned the jury against her, unfortunately. Check out a bunch of the funniest times lawyers did a facepalm by scrolling below. 

Up next, read about the parents who chose to see an air show instead of going to their daughter's celebrity contest win. 

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  • 01
    'The man claimed worker's compensation... [He] posted a video of him winning a break dance competition...after the R alleged work incident'
    via Natalia Blauth For Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Lawyers of Reddit, what is the dumbest thing you're client has done to ruin a case?
    via u/
  • 03
    Youasking Not an attorney, worked in a firm. Workers compensation claim, guy falls down at work and claims he injured many different body parts (Shoulder, Knees, Back). We tell him to stay off social media. No problem, he doesnt use social media. At trial, he tells the Judge he used to be a Spin Class Instructor, but since the accident, he cannot teach
    via u/Youasking
  • 04
    classes anymore. Welp..turns out, he continued to teach these classes after his injury. This was proved by the HOURS of surveillance the Insurance company did, showing him teaching and vigourously riding in Spin class. How did the Insurance company know he was still an active instructor? The guy posted his Full Teaching Schedule on his FB page. His
    via u/Youasking
  • 05
    potentially very lucrative claim, was quickly changed to a fraud claim against him.
    via u/Youasking
  • 06
    The_Art_of_D... Client was being sued and didn't like the opposing counsel or the judge so he left the court a bunch of voicemails so profane that he was subject to a criminal contempt of court hearing
    via u/The_Art_of_D****
  • 07
    50yoWhiteGuy 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.
    via u/The_Art_of_D****
  • 08
    Fjord Reject 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!"
    via u/Fjord Reject
  • 09
    [deleted] Not my client but the petitioner attorney's client. The man claimed Workers' Compensation and threw the kitchen sink at us, meaning, he basically listed just over half of his body parts on the claim petition stating that he injured each one. He was full of sh and
    via u/[deleted]
  • 10
    my firm knew it. Anyways, we were going to trial and the day before we ran one more social media search. This absolute posted a video of him winning a break dance moron competition that was only a few months after the alleged work incident. Never saw a quicker dismissal in my life.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 11
    shaidyn 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.
    via u/shaidyn
  • 12
    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.
    via u/shaidyn
  • 13
    bclinger I was on a jury where the defendant showed up in court day 1 wearing the same exact outfit as the "unknown suspect" in the video of the crime. It took only a few seconds before
    via u/bclinger
  • 14
    the judge immediately called a stoppage. All lawyers went into the back with the judge and they came out like 7 minutes later as announced the defendant had taken the plea deal. Wild
    via u/bclinger
  • 15
    IANAL, but I used to review disability claims so I often worked with clients who had lawyers. A man whose attorney had instructed him to not speak with us directly (a very smart, very basic recommendation) called me up to rant, angrily, that his lawyer was wrong. He COULD shop for groceries
    via u/gwart_
  • 16
    and mow the lawn and do all sorts of house work JUST FINE, thank you. Now I had seen this man's medical records. There's no way he was doing all of this without difficulty. So I probed a little further. He could shop for groceries... as long as he used a mobility scooter and had his wife carry things in the house. He could mow the lawn... if he used a riding
    via u/gwart_
  • 17
    mower and took a lengthy break every 10 minutes or so. He could do house work... which was limited to wiping down counters and folding (but not carrying) laundry. I called his attorney and gave them a quick update as soon as he and I hung up.
    via u/gwart_
  • 18
    I approved his claim, but that man is so lucky he got someone who was willing to take an extra 15 minutes with him.
    via u/gwart_
  • 19
    lowanddisorder 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".
    via u/lowanddisorder
  • 20
    j-manz Client returns to court drank after luncheon adjournment. Falls asleep, and his head drops right into the side of the witness box, whereupon he proceeds to snore. Loudly.
    via u/j-manz
  • 21
    revolutionPan... Not a lawyer, but I was in a courtroom watching injunctions (restraining orders) play out. One case the woman was there, but the man was in prison so he was calling in. After deciding on an agreement, the guy asked if he could make a statement.
    via u/revolutionPanda
  • 22
    At the end of his statement, he said "and tell {the woman} to go f herself." He got an additional 6 months of prison. The guy asked to make another statement after getting a tongue lashing from the judge.
    via u/revolutionPanda
  • 23
    And he did it again - telling her to go f herself. And got another 6 months. Imagine losing a year of your life because you couldn't shut up for 5 minutes.
    via u/revolutionPanda
  • 24
    The worst ones are the ones who think they're smarter than they are. When it comes time for depositions, broad sweeping statements of how "I would never allow discrimination in my office" and how "I'm 100% sure I never said that" are a great way to destroy your own credibility, set yourself up to get eviscerated by opposing counsel, and ultimately turn
    via u/cwistofu
  • 25
    a nuisance value bulls case into something worth six figures. Moral of the story: if you're going to ignore the entire day of deposition prep I did with you just so you can protect your own fragile ego on the record, at least do me the courtesy of telling me to off ahead of time. f
    via u/cwistofu
  • 26
    hankthetank2... It was a credit card fraud case in the early part of my career. He actually wore the stolen clothes to court and a clerk at the defrauded store identified them in front of the jury. I felt like the guy in the commercial that asks "want to be somewhere else?"
    via u/hankthetank2112
  • 27
    Recently was in court and apparently part of the requirements of this guy was that he not talk to his family. He called his mother on Mother's Day. The judge said "your mother seems to care about your freedom as little as you do- put the cuffs on him."
    via u/azorianmilk
  • 28
    Edit- I don't know the perimeters of this case, I was just a by stander in court. The lawyer, in sweats mind you, said "Oh Judge, I told him. I told her. Can't fix stupid." It was wild to watch.
    via u/azorianmilk
  • 29
    Relevant_Mer... NAL - I was a legal clerk for a couple years in college. Still baffles me how this one made it all the way to trial. Lady slipped & fell at a chain restaurant, "hurt" her back irreparably, wanted a huge payout. Said she slipped on butter that was on the floor.
    via u/Relevant_Meringue102
  • 30
    On cross exam she was asked what type of butter, answer "the little pats of butter they put out in the buffet.” Defense immediately re-called the store manager.... The store had never used that type of butter. Case ended pretty quickly. Lol.
    via u/Relevant_Meringue102
  • 31
    CylonsInAPoli... Not a lawyer, heard this story from a guy I used to work with. His brother in law got injured at work and was suing for a hefty sum. Case. was pretty much open and shut, all the evidence was in the BIL's favor... Until the BIL started talking. They ask him to tell them about the day of the accident. BIL started out fine until he gets to the where he approached the
    via u/CylonsInAPolicebox
  • 32
    piece of equipment that injured him. He tell everyone that there was a note on it stating that it was out of order. BIL then says that he discarded the note and started up the piece of malfunctioning equipment as he had a job to get done... That easy win was discarded faster than that out of order sign.
    via u/CylonsInAPolicebox
  • 33
    I was defending a client who was accused of trademark infringement. Thought he knew better than the IP Attorney assigned to his case (me) and so went on his company's website to "defend" himself by basically confessing to what he did and claiming it wasn't against the law and the trademark owner was a "woke baby" who needed to
    via u/LovePeaceHope-ish
  • 34
    either "learn the law" or "get back in the kitchen and make her husband a sandwich" ( i wish i could say i was joking). I was one email away from negotiating a settlement that would have allowed the continued use of the complainants mark with limited restrictions and a very
    via u/LovePeaceHope-ish
  • 35
    nominal fee. Little to say, she saw his website, told us to go f ourselves, and dragged it before a judge. My client lost...big. His lack of self-control cost him thousands of dollars.
    via u/LovePeaceHope-ish
  • 36
    He sent a letter threatening the defendant with media publication about their dispute. He did this on the day before mediation. Naturally, the matter didn't settle for anywhere close for what he wanted and we had to cut a $120k loss on fees.
    via u/Lonely_Second_55
  • 37
    JimShore Age discrimination case. Client: "Age was never a factor". Memorandum written by client: "He's just too old to be effective any more." Client in deposition: "Age was a factor, yes". Settlement followed.
    via u/JimShore
  • 38
    lurker2080 IANAL. I handle work comp claims. This one always cracks me up. Guy claims bilateral wrist injuries from repetitive motion cutting meat. We get "word" aka he posts on his Facebook about him competing in an MMA style event. Send surveillance there which gets this dude fighting with no issues
    via u/lurker2080
  • 39
    shellysayswhat One of the first (and only) divorce cases I took as a solo was a man who said his wife had run away back to Nepal and abandoned him and their 7 year old daughter in the states. He said he had no way to get in touch with her or find her and that she was likely with a new lover. So we effect service by publication, file everything at court, and
    via u/shellysayswhat
  • 40
    case is rolling along "uncontested"... until the wife shows up, gets her own lawyer, and shows that her husband knew where she was the whole time. He admits to me via email that he may have been a bit deceptive with me. I told him that if he was willing to be fully truthful with me going forward, we could work with wife's attorney to come up with an
    via u/shellysayswhat
  • 41
    agreement, but that he would need to pay me more because now it's a messy contested divorce and his small retainer for uncontested is depleted. He did not do either of these things. I had zero faith he would not continue to lie (he gave me more reasons to see that he was continuing to lie to me) so after telling him I could not represent him anymore I filed for a withdrawal of representation
    via u/shellysayswhat
  • 42
    - a mandatory one based on fraud to the court. Show up to court for the motion hearing and he stands up and says he objects and doesn't want me to withdraw. Said I'm only trying to walk because of the money and then TRIES TO HAND OVER EVERY COMMUNICATION WE HAVE HAD TO THE
    via u/shellysayswhat
  • 43
    COURT. He printed our all of our emails. Wife's lawyer looks at me and, as client is trying to hand these over, informs him that they would get to see everything as well so maybe that's not a great idea (wife's lawyer was really great). Judge is dumbfounded. I tell him it's a mandatory withdrawal and if I give any additional info,
    via u/shellysayswhat
  • 44
    I'm prejudicing my soon to be ex-client. Judge briefly tried to explain to client what that meant and allowed my motion. He shut up and I walked out.
    via u/shellysayswhat
  • 45
    GoddessOfOd... She was doing "magnet therapy" with a "therapist" five hours away by phone. The "therapist" had the magnets. My client would hold the phone up to various parts of her body that needed the magnetic energy to help it heal. For $2000/month.
    via u/GoddessOfOddness
  • 46
    She never told me about this in the dozens of hours we prepared by talking everything through. I learned during the other side's cross of her. I've never been tempted to head desk in court before.
    via u/GoddessOfOddness
  • 47
    Legal videographer here... Video taped a deposition for a man claiming work injuries so severe he could not raise his right hand above his shoulder, and his shoulder was in pain whenever he even tried to raise it above the shoulder. Sued his employer claiming it was a work injury. Then came his very first deposition.
    via u/THE_PHYS
  • 48
    Does anybody know the first thing the court reporter asks of the person testifying? The reporter swears them in by saying: "Would you please raise your right hand and repeat after me..." Then administers the oath to tell the truth...
    via u/THE_PHYS
  • 49
    Man who claimed not be able to raise his hand above his shoulder... raised his hand way above his shoulder. That hand and arm went up like a rocket. The guy did not even realize. what he had done and kept his arm up through the whole oath.
    via u/THE_PHYS
  • 50
    Neither plaintiff or defense counsel caught it. The court reporter and I just looked at each other and let the depo play out. I was hired by defense counsel and showed him the first 20 seconds of the video, and took home a nice bonus because of it. Case was dropped shortly after that depo.
    via u/THE_PHYS
  • 51
    boblywobl... company wanted to save money on a federal patent infringement case and hired a family lawyer from the yellow pages. Lawyer was sanctioned by the court after missing multiple deadlines, up - discovery, basically failing. why? because he didn't know how to take a such a case. client lost the case.
    via u/boblywobly99

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