Picture this, use your imagination. It’s a small-town courtroom in Texas.
A murder trial where everything points straight at the defendant — except for one small, inconvenient detail. There’s no body.
Knowing the odds are stacked against him, the defense lawyer decides to pull a bold move during his closing argument.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he says, glancing dramatically at his watch, “I have a surprise. In exactly one minute, the person everyone believes is dead … will walk through that door.”
The courtroom falls silent.
The jury turns, eyes locked on the door.
Thirty seconds… forty… fifty… sixty…
Nothing.
The lawyer smiles and says, “Actually, I made that up. But look how you all watched the door — expecting someone to come in. That shows you have reasonable doubt. And if you have doubt, you must find my client not guilty.”
The jury nods thoughtfully and leaves to deliberate.
A short-while later, they’re back with a “Guilty verdict!”
The stunned lawyer jumps up. “But — but you all watched the door! That proves you had doubt!”
The jury foreman grinned and said, “We did watch the door, but your client didn’t.”
Sometimes, it’s not the jury you need to convince — it’s your own client!