Laugh it off

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!"