In a new article, Shannon P. Duffy covers the highly entertaining and age old question: should counsel be allowed to perform magic tricks for the jury? Apparently, some opposing counsel say it's actually dirty tricks. It's also front and center in a recent case, Blash v. ABA Construction Group, because of the accomplished performance of one attorney, Steven Leventhal of Reger Rizzo & Darnall, who's also an adjunct at Temple University School of Law.
Mr. Leventhal has some favorites:
In one trick, Leventhal, who works exclusively for defendants, said he slowly folds a $1 bill while explaining to the jury that the parts of the plaintiff's case just don't tie together. When he unfolds the bill, he said, the astonished jury sees a bizarre bill that appears to have been cut apart and pasted together the wrong way, with the corners in the middle.
In another trick, Leventhal said, the slowly folded $1 bill is revealed to be a $100 bill and then, to the jury's collective amazement, changes back to a $1 bill.
Thanks to Ken Trombly for alerting me to this story.
Note: update at More On Magic Lawyering.
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