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'''Judge:''' The jury will kindly disregard the defendant's entire opening statement, with the exception of "Thank you."|''[[My Cousin Vinny]]''}}
'''Judge:''' The jury will kindly disregard the defendant's entire opening statement, with the exception of "Thank you."|''[[My Cousin Vinny]]''}}


A kind of [[Courtroom Antic]] where the lawyer asks or says something totally inappropriate to the rules of the courtroom in order to get the jury to think of something a certain way. A classic example is, "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"
A [[Courtroom Antic]] in which one lawyer asks or says something highly inappropriate to the rules of the courtroom, most commonly a [[Loaded Question]], as a means to get the jury to think of something a certain way. Naturally, the opposing lawyer will object, and the Judge will say, without fail; "The members of the jury are instructed to disregard that statement." The original lawyer smirks because apparently only he realizes that people cannot voluntarily induce amnesia. If he's ''really'' being smug, he'll withdraw the statement before the other lawyer can finish objecting.


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Lawyers refer to this method as "ringing the bell," because you can't un-ring a bell.
Naturally, the opposing lawyer [[That Was Objectionable|will object]], and then the Judge will say, without fail; "The members of the jury are instructed to disregard that statement." Original lawyer smirks because apparently only he realizes that people cannot voluntarily induce amnesia. If he's ''really'' being smug, he'll withdraw the statement before the other lawyer can finish objecting.


In the real world, any lawyer who tries this is likely to be disbarred.
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In the real world, this is a good way to lose the right to practice law; never mind using it as a common tactic. Lawyers refer to this method as "ringing the bell," because you can't un-ring a bell.


When the opposing counsel attempts to [[Invoked Trope|invoke this trope]] without a proper reason, it's [[That Was Objectionable]].
For when the opposing counsel attempts to [[Invoked Trope|invoke this trope]] without a proper reason, see [[That Was Objectionable]].


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== Comics ==
== Comics ==
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