A Lawyer's Question

A small town prosecuting attorney called his first
witness to the stand in a trial--a grandmotherly, 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 rising
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. Williams,
do you know the defense attorney?"
She again replied, "Why, yes I do. I've known Mr. Bradley
since he was a youngster, too. I used to baby-sit him for
his parents. And he, too, has been a real disappointment
to me. He's lazy, bigoted, he has a drinking problem.
The man can't build a normal relationship with anyone
and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the entire
state. Yes, I know him."
At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence
and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet
voice, he said with menace, "If either of you asks her if
she knows me, you'll be in jail for contempt within 5
minutes!"