...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
Backfire on the Witness Stand
- 255 statements
- 48 feature instances
- 17 referencing feature instances
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | type |
FeatureClass | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | label |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | page |
BackfireOnTheWitnessStand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | comment |
You're in a bit of a legal pickle, and the trial isn't going your way. The other side's case is rock-solid, and you have hardly anything on your side that could help. However, you've got a star witness—what they'll say in their testimony will undoubtedly vindicate you and make your case a slam dunk! Your witness takes the stand, swears the oath, starts testifying... and to your horror, they're saying all the things you don't want them to say. Whether they're obliviously confessing proof of your heinous deeds or cruelly fabricating evidence for crimes you didn't commit, they're blowing a massive hole in your case. By the time they're done, they've done more to ruin your case than any of the other side's lawyers, and a ruling in your favor is all but impossible at this point. |
|
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | fetched |
2024-02-11T12:45:44Z | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | parsed |
2024-02-11T12:45:44Z | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | processingComment |
Dropped link to BuffetBuffoonery: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | processingComment |
Dropped link to BuxomBeautyStandard: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | processingComment |
Dropped link to CharacterWitness: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | processingComment |
Dropped link to Discussed: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | processingComment |
Dropped link to EasyAmnesia: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | processingComment |
Dropped link to FallGuy: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | processingComment |
Dropped link to FalseFriend: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | processingComment |
Dropped link to SmokingGun: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_18ad671 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_18ad671 | comment |
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken: During the libel trial against Luther Higgs and his newspaper, Luther's defense team calls a man named Gaylord Patie, who gives testimony that supports Luther's story. However, when the plaintiff's attorney cross-examines Mr. Patie, Mr. Patie admits that he's a member of a society of believers in UFOs and that the society's last meeting was on Mars. This not only discredits his testimony but also makes Luther seem like even more of a liar. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_18ad671 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_18ad671 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Ghost and Mr. Chicken | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_18ad671 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_20828b24 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_20828b24 | comment |
Impeachment: The Office of Independent Counsel uses increasingly desperate measures to compel Monica Lewinsky to testify because their only other witness to Bill Clinton's perjury is Linda Tripp, an obnoxious, self-aggrandizing paranoiac with a clear ulterior motive for aiding the OIC — she committed a felony by taping her conversations with Monica without the latter's knowledge. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_20828b24 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_20828b24 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Impeachment | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_20828b24 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_23b75bd0 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_23b75bd0 | comment |
Cult Of Squid: Throughout Neptune Trials, various characters take the stand and make absolutely asinine claims that wind up hurting Squidward's case. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_23b75bd0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_23b75bd0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Cult Of Squid (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_23b75bd0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_261c8d3f | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_261c8d3f | comment |
The Simpsons: "Bart Gets Hit By A Car": When Bart is hit by Mr. Burns's car, Homer takes him to court for one million dollars. Shyster lawyer Lionel Hutz and quack doctor Nick Riviera conspire to make Bart's injuries appear worse than they actually are, which Marge feels uncomfortable about. Burns attempts to settle for $500k, but when he finds out about Marge's guilty conscience through eavesdropping, he rescinds the offer and has his lawyer call her to the stand. Unable to lie, she confesses her doubts at Dr. Nick's credentials, torpedoing the case and damaging her relationship with Homer. Fortunately, he realizes he can't stay mad at her for long. In "Bart the Murderer", after Bart is framed both for the (supposed) murder of Principal Skinner and being the capo di tutti capi of the Springfield Mafia, Hutz calls Homer to the stand and asks if he can sincerely find his son capable of being the leader of a murderous crime syndicate: In "The New Kid on the Block," Homer and Lionel Hutz sue Captain McCallister's all-you-can-eat buffet for false advertising because the staff threw him out at closing time after he ate all the shrimp, but it still wasn't all he could eat. Marge is thoroughly embarrassed by the whole debacle and plans to lie in her testimony to get back at Homer. After her first lie (which visibly surprises Homer), it takes one reminder from Hutz that she's under oath for Marge to fold completely. After she admits that she and Homer spent half the night searching for another all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant — and then went fishing when they couldn't find one — Homer wins his case. |
|
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_261c8d3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_261c8d3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Simpsons | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_261c8d3f | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_35097ab9 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_35097ab9 | comment |
Weight Off Your Shoulder: Chloé confidently assumes that Ms. Bustier will be the perfect Character Witness for her trial; after all, she always took her side whenever Chloé's classmates were being ridiculous! However, Ms. Bustier has recently had a Heel Realization, and admits that she was wrong to constantly give Chloé the benefit of the doubt. On top of that, Chloé had bragged to her about her plans to ally with Gabriel's legal team in order to paint herself as an innocent victim; when Ms. Bustier reveals this on the stand, Chloé flies into a towering rage, screeching at her over her "betrayal". | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_35097ab9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_35097ab9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Weight Off Your Shoulder (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_35097ab9 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_455e3038 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_455e3038 | comment |
Parodied in King of the Hill. In the episode "The Trouble with Gribbles," Dale sues Manitoba Cigarettes and claims that his second-hand smoke made his wife Nancy ugly, as a scheme to get her a free facelift. He acts as both his own lawyer and his own witness and interrogates himself, but tanks his own case when he realizes that constantly calling Nancy ugly was hurting her self-esteem. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_455e3038 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_455e3038 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| King of the Hill | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_455e3038 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_49340431 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_49340431 | comment |
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: In the fourth season finale, Jake and Rosa are being framed for armed robbery by Melanie Hawkins, and their last hope is Matthew Langdon, a former cop who went off the grid after working with her. Langdon tells Jake that he uncovered Hawkins' corruption, and she threatened his and his wife's lives if he didn't leave, but he agrees to testify on Jake and Rosa's behalf anyway. Unfortunately, the squad doesn't find out until he's literally on the stand that Langdon is in fact still working for Hawkins, and he lies to the jury that Jake tried to bribe him into smearing Hawkins' "good name." | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_49340431 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_49340431 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_49340431 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_505a2cca | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_505a2cca | comment |
American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson: Episode six features the testimony of defense witness Rosa Lopez, a housekeeper for Simpson's neighbor who claims to have seen Simpson's white Bronco at his Rockingham home when Nicole and Ron's murders occurred. Since Lopez has threatened to leave the country due to being hounded by the press, Simpson's defense team moves to have her give her testimony at an earlier date. However, when Marcia cross-examines Lopez, she points out that not only are there no records of Lopez booking a flight out of the US, but she has also filed for unemployment. Worse, Lopez is unable to recall at what time she actually saw the Bronco; in her first statement, she claimed she saw it at 10 PM but said in later testimony it was at 10:15. Simpson makes it very clear to his lawyers how displeased he is by this turn of events. Chris Darden desperately tries to convince Marcia Clark not to put Simpson's arresting officer Mark Fuhrman on the stand, as it would allow the defense to question Fuhrman about his history and about police procedures, for which Furhman would almost certainly plead the Fifth in order to avoid potentially incriminating himself or his fellow officers, creating the appearance of a cover-up. Clark doesn't listen to Darden and puts Fuhrman on the stand, and sure enough, Fuhrman pleads the Fifth, playing right into the defense's hands. Impeachment: The Office of Independent Counsel uses increasingly desperate measures to compel Monica Lewinsky to testify because their only other witness to Bill Clinton's perjury is Linda Tripp, an obnoxious, self-aggrandizing paranoiac with a clear ulterior motive for aiding the OIC — she committed a felony by taping her conversations with Monica without the latter's knowledge. |
|
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_505a2cca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_505a2cca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| American Crime Story | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_505a2cca | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_546876cb | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_546876cb | comment |
Sonic Boom: In "Don't Judge Me", Dr. Eggman sues Sonic, claiming he was injured during their most recent battle. Tails tries to give a genuine testimony in Sonic's favor, but Eggman's lawyer twists his words to paint Sonic as a menace to society with a violent grudge against Eggman. Knuckles insultingly claims Sonic is too weak to have inflicted Eggman's injury, which Sonic angrily refutes, hurting his own case. Sticks' rambling testimony averts the trope inasmuch as, while it doesn't exactly help Sonic's case, it doesn't harm it either. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_546876cb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_546876cb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Sonic Boom | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_546876cb | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_55ef2655 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_55ef2655 | comment |
Kenan & Kel: Played for Laughs in "The Tainting of the Screw". Kenan takes a tuna cannery to court for supposedly finding a screw in one of their tuna cans. He summons Kel to the witness stand as his only witness. Turns out, the tuna company was innocent, and the real culprit — if by accident — was actually Kel, which he admits while on the stand. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_55ef2655 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_55ef2655 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Kenan & Kel | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_55ef2655 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5701c71c | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5701c71c | comment |
The Legend of Lizzie Borden: Hosea's case is already not going that well what with Lizzie's extremely incriminating testimony at the inquest having been ruled inadmissible. But things get worse when Hosea rushes an expert witness on the stand without vetting him, and the expert proceeds to testify that what minor bloodstains were found on Lizzie's clothes were "menstrual blood". Lizzie's acquittal follows soon after. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5701c71c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5701c71c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Legend of Lizzie Borden | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5701c71c | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5db577ba | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5db577ba | comment |
Zig-zagged in The Dark Knight. In Harvey Dent's first scene, he has Sal Maroni—the head of the Gotham Mafia—on trial, and on the witness stand is a mid-level mafioso who's agreed to testify against Maroni. The witness suddenly changes his testimony on the stand, claiming he's the head of the whole operation and Maroni's just the fall guy. When Harvey asks the judge for permission to treat the witness as hostile, the mafioso pulls a gun on him. Harvey punches him in the face and disarms him, snarks at Maroni about this, then insists on finishing his cross-examination—but he still loses the trial, and Maroni goes free. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5db577ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5db577ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Dark Knight | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5db577ba | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5ffa1979 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5ffa1979 | comment |
In the Scott The Woz video The Trial, Scott attempts to convict Steel Wool of murder. Despite calling the murder victims as witnesses, Steel Wool's attorney, Liza Lots, is far better at manipulating the series' Insane Troll Logic in her favor. It doesn't help that the witnesses are Too Dumb to Live, such as correctly identifying a handgun's model, or refusing to name the killer despite knowing their identity. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5ffa1979 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5ffa1979 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Scott The Woz (Web Video) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_5ffa1979 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_72262aee | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_72262aee | comment |
Avatar: The Last Airbender: When on trial for killing the folk hero Chin the Great in a past life, Aang resorts to trying to summon the spirit of Avatar Kyoshi to clear up the matter. Kyoshi answers the call, reveals that Chin the Conqueror was actually a brutal warlord and The Napoleon, and does not sugarcoat that she (indirectly) killed him. The Kangaroo Court promptly sentences Aang to being boiled in oil. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_72262aee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_72262aee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Avatar: The Last Airbender | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_72262aee | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7482155 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7482155 | comment |
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: In his trial for car theft, Toad swears that he bought the motorcar fair and square, trading it for the deed to Toad Hall. He calls Mr. Winkie, proprietor of the tavern where the deal took place, to corroborate. Toad introduces him as "a man of unimpeachable honesty" and begins to walk out of the courtroom thinking he already won, but once Winkie takes the witness stand... | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7482155 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7482155 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7482155 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7884ec15 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7884ec15 | comment |
Seinfeld: In "The Ticket," Newman disputes a speeding ticket by claiming that he was rushing to save a suicidal friend, and wants Kramer to pose as that friend in court. However, Kramer had his memory frazzled due to a kick in the head, and is incoherent during his testimony. In "The Caddy," Kramer sues Elaine's buxom frenemy Sue Ellen Mishcke, on the grounds that the sight of her wearing a bra as a blouse caused Kramer to be distracted and get into a car accident. Although he's likely to win already, Kramer (on the advice of his golf caddy Stan) insists on having Sue Ellen try on the bra in question. Since she is wearing a leotard in the courtroom, she's able to pretend that the bra doesn't fit, and the judge rules against Kramernote This is all a parody of the "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit" debacle from the O. J. Simpson trial. |
|
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7884ec15 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7884ec15 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Seinfeld | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7884ec15 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7d1c83da | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7d1c83da | comment |
Better Call Saul: played with in "Chicanery," with Jimmy's bar hearing. Howard advises Chuck not to testify at the hearing, as they have enough evidence to get Jimmy's license revoked without it. Chuck insists on going anyway, both for his Control Freak tendencies and desire to end Jimmy's law career personally. It backfires in a breathtaking fashion when Jimmy tricks Chuck into an explosive Motive Rant on the stand that damages Chuck's credibility and ends up getting Jimmy briefly suspended instead of fully revoked. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7d1c83da | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7d1c83da | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Better Call Saul | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7d1c83da | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7e35116c | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7e35116c | comment |
Heavy Metal: The first witness called by the prosecution in the trial of Lincoln Sternn is the gangly Hanover Fiste. Hanover starts painting the defendant as lawful and honorable because he'd been promised thirty thousand zuleks for favorable testimony. The Loc-Nar, however, monkey-wrenches Hanover's testimony, and transforms the man into a huge hulking brute hell-bent on crushing the life out of Captain Sternn. The courtroom panics as Hanover flicks aside security forces like boogers. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7e35116c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7e35116c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Heavy Metal | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7e35116c | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7f385321 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7f385321 | comment |
Denial: Julius spells out for Deborah that this is what will happen if she has Holocaust survivors testify against David Irving — he will badger and harass them until they crack and he'll make their case look bad. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7f385321 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7f385321 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Denial | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_7f385321 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_82439e64 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_82439e64 | comment |
In The Office (US), Jan sues Dunder-Mifflin for firing her, (falsely) claiming it was because she got breast implants, and coaches Michael Scott to give a deposition on corporate mistreatment of employees. However, Michael is incensed that she admitted his diary into evidence and once gave a scathing performance review calling for his demotion, so he gives a deposition saying there's no pattern of corporate abuse and ruins her case. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_82439e64 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_82439e64 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Office (US) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_82439e64 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_842ce861 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_842ce861 | comment |
The People v. O. J. Simpson: Episode six features the testimony of defense witness Rosa Lopez, a housekeeper for Simpson's neighbor who claims to have seen Simpson's white Bronco at his Rockingham home when Nicole and Ron's murders occurred. Since Lopez has threatened to leave the country due to being hounded by the press, Simpson's defense team moves to have her give her testimony at an earlier date. However, when Marcia cross-examines Lopez, she points out that not only are there no records of Lopez booking a flight out of the US, but she has also filed for unemployment. Worse, Lopez is unable to recall at what time she actually saw the Bronco; in her first statement, she claimed she saw it at 10 PM but said in later testimony it was at 10:15. Simpson makes it very clear to his lawyers how displeased he is by this turn of events. Chris Darden desperately tries to convince Marcia Clark not to put Simpson's arresting officer Mark Fuhrman on the stand, as it would allow the defense to question Fuhrman about his history and about police procedures, for which Furhman would almost certainly plead the Fifth in order to avoid potentially incriminating himself or his fellow officers, creating the appearance of a cover-up. Clark doesn't listen to Darden and puts Fuhrman on the stand, and sure enough, Fuhrman pleads the Fifth, playing right into the defense's hands. |
|
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_842ce861 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_842ce861 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The People v. O. J. Simpson | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_842ce861 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d814070 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d814070 | comment |
M*A*S*H: Defied in "Snappier Judgement". Klinger is facing a court-martial over a stolen Polaroid camera. Klinger picks Major Charles Winchester to defend him, so Charles goes about rounding up defense and character witnesses to bolster his defense of Klinger. Father Mulcahy offers to testify about how Klinger got a Seoul hotel to generously donate a bunch of new Bibles for the camp's Sunday service. While Klinger is subtly trying to get Mulcahy to stop talking, Charles puts two and two together and realizes Klinger had stolen those Bibles, which means that putting Mulcahy on the witness stand would score huge points for the prosecution. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d814070 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d814070 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| M*A*S*H | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d814070 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d81f086 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d81f086 | comment |
Zig-zagged in the Monk episode "Mr. Monk Takes the Stand." Monk serves as a major prosecution witness in Evan Gildea's trial for murdering his wife. Gildea's defense attorney Harrison Powell discredits Monk by revealing his mental disorder, leading him to panic and have a Heroic BSoD, while Gildea is acquitted. Fortunately, Monk finds evidence of Gildea's guilt in a different murder, and this time, Powell can't stop him. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d81f086 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d81f086 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Monk | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8d81f086 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8dbc88c4 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8dbc88c4 | comment |
Subverted in a "Mathnet" segment on Square One TV. George Frankly is accused of robbing a bank in Los Angeles, while he was actually vacationing on an island in the middle of a lake 150 miles away. To prove his alibi, he calls to the stand a pilot who runs the island's charter plane business, the only way George could leave the island and reach Los Angeles in time. To his dismay, the pilot testifies that George did use his plane. Thankfully, Kate Monday checks on the weather conditions on the day of the robbery and discovers that there were heavy fog and winds, meaning that the plane couldn't have flown George across the lake. It is later revealed that the pilot isn't really a pilot, the sea plane business is fake, and the entire robbery was a Frame-Up against George hatched by two brothers he once put behind bars: one robbed a bank disguised as George, while the other posed as a pilot to testify against him. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8dbc88c4 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8dbc88c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Square One TV | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_8dbc88c4 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_91d7e52d | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_91d7e52d | comment |
A Time to Kill: Carl Lee Hailey is on trial for the murder of the two racist thugs who had brutally raped his ten-year-old daughter. Dwayne Looney, a deputy who was present and lost a leg to a stray bullet, is called to testify during the trial. On the stand, Looney makes clear that he doesn't blame Carl Lee, and would have done exactly the same thing in his situation. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_91d7e52d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_91d7e52d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| A Time to Kill | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_91d7e52d | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_974f7efb | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_974f7efb | comment |
The Drew Carey Show: Mimi's sexual harassment lawsuit against Mr. Wick (and his countersuit for defamation) comes to an ignominious end when Drew is called to the stand. Drew is under the influence of an aphrodisiac and his consequent inappropriate behavior gets him removed from the courtroom. As he is the sole witness, the case is thrown out. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_974f7efb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_974f7efb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Drew Carey Show | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_974f7efb | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_994af351 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_994af351 | comment |
The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney manga has this happen preemptively to Phoenix in "Turnabout Gallows". When Bobby Wolfe is put on trial for killing his older brother Robin, Edgeworth claims that Bobby would have burned down the Den of Spiders, where Bobby's collections of spiders and spider books are kept, because if he were to be arrested or commit suicide after Robin's murder, no one would be left to take care of them. Phoenix counters that Bobby wouldn't willingly destroy his collection of spiders if Thomas Spitzer, his friend, were around to take care of them. Edgeworth, having anticipated this, calls Spitzer to the witness stand for the prosecution, and Spitzer claims that he finds Edgeworth more convincing, forcing Phoenix to find other ways to prove Bobby's innocence. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_994af351 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_994af351 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Visual Novel) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_994af351 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9acdda28 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9acdda28 | comment |
Watership Down: One tale of the rabbit Folk Hero El-ahrairah concerns a mole named Hufsa, a rabbit that El-ahrairah's nemesis Prince Rainbow forced El-ahrairah to allow into his warren. El-ahrairah confirmed that Hufsa was a spy by feeding him false information but couldn't simply kick him out of the warren without getting into trouble with Prince Rainbow, so he had to come up with a clever way to get rid of Husfa. He took Hufsa with him on a trip to go commit a grand theft after instructing several animals to do bizarre things in front of them during the trip and give nonsensical explanations for why. Eventually, the Prince was brought to trial by Prince Rainbow, with Hufsa as star witness. El-ahrairah then demanded a trial by jury and insisted on it even when Prince Rainbow told him it would have to be a jury of animals that prey on rabbits. However, once Hufsa started his testimony, the jury heard such absurdities (a rabbit smoking cigarettes?!) that they declared Hufsa insane and refused to hear any more evidence, and El-ahrairah was acquitted, while Prince Rainbow took Hufsa away. Hufsa came to be synonymous with Judas among rabbits evermore. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9acdda28 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9acdda28 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Watership Down | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9acdda28 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9e2dbb4d | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9e2dbb4d | comment |
Regular Show: In the episode "cool bikes", after Benson makes a bet with Mordecai and Rigby that he will give them back the high-end cart he confiscated if he ever admits that they are cool, the two go out of their way to become as cool as possible. This backfires when they are summoned to Intergalactic Cool Court and put on trial for being too cool. In a desperate attempt to get themselves acquitted, Mordecai and Rigby have their lawyer summon Benson as a witness, hoping that Benson will be too stubborn to ever admit they are cool and thus lose the bet. Unfortunately, once the judge warns Benson that he is under oath and thus forbidden to lie, Benson relents and admits that Mordecai and Rigby are cool. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9e2dbb4d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9e2dbb4d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Regular Show | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_9e2dbb4d | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_afa6cc7d | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_afa6cc7d | comment |
The Trial Of Tim Heidecker: Tim calls in EDM musician Orion Jaxx to testify that the conditions at the Electric Sun music festival were better than what the prosecution claims. Jaxx replies that he didn't get any of the amenities Tim promised performers, and he's still waiting for his payment. Tim's next witness, Jesse Popp, says the festival was great and he never saw Tim hand out poisoned vape pens to concertgoers. However, the prosecution gets him to admit he's an actor who was paid by Tim to lie. Manuel Giusti, Tim's final witness, presents an alleged Smoking Gun confession letter from Dr. San that would exonerate Tim. However, he admits under cross-examination that the letter was a forgery given to him by Tim. |
|
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_afa6cc7d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_afa6cc7d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Trial Of Tim Heidecker (Web Video) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_afa6cc7d | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b49fda2f | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b49fda2f | comment |
In Liberty Heights, this is Played for Laughs - Van is at a party when Trey, who is drunk, crashes his car into the house. Van gets called to testify at Trey's trial, but when he's given the oath ("Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"), Van answers, "No". The trial ends in a mistrial. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b49fda2f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b49fda2f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Liberty Heights | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b49fda2f | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b6018a9 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b6018a9 | comment |
Sleepers: Deliberately Invoked by Michael, who deliberately calls a witness that winds up painting Nokes as an Asshole Victim in order to create reasonable doubt that his clients were the ones who took him out. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b6018a9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b6018a9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Sleepers | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_b6018a9 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_bc848d30 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_bc848d30 | comment |
SpongeBob SquarePants: In "Krabs vs. Plankton", Plankton sues Mr. Krabs over his (faked) injuries from slipping on a wet floor in the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob represents him and calls Squidward as a character witness to prove Mr. Krabs isn't a cheapskate who cuts corners with safety standards. However, Squidward bluntly affirms all of it and to add insult to injury, states that this is his first day off in three years. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_bc848d30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_bc848d30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| SpongeBob SquarePants | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_bc848d30 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c02ce5b4 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c02ce5b4 | comment |
House of the Dragon: When Otto Hightower sees that Prince Daemon took his niece, crown princess Rhaenyra, to a brothel, he reports this to King Viserys with some reluctance. While Otto has been searching for a reason to get Rhaenyra disinherited so that his grandchildren can take the throne, it's made plain that Otto honestly feels that Viserys should know this and that he doesn't take much pleasure from doing so. Unfortunately for Otto, while Viserys (privately) acknowledges the information, it also clues the king in on Otto's attempts to usurp the throne from Rhaenyra and sees him dismissed as Hand of the King. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c02ce5b4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c02ce5b4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| House of the Dragon | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c02ce5b4 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c35714d6 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c35714d6 | comment |
This happens in the Blackadder Goes Forth episode "Corporal Punishment", although in this case, it's because Blackadder's lawyer is an idiot who thinks calling the prosecutor, who has a grudge against the accused, as a character witness is a good idea. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c35714d6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c35714d6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Blackadder | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_c35714d6 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ca08598f | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ca08598f | comment |
The first episode of The Wire features D'Angelo Barksdale on trial for murder which seems like a slam dunk, until one of the prosecution witnesses suddenly changes her story on the stand, and D'Angelo walks. The witness had been paid off, and the other witness is murdered at the end of the episode for refusing to cooperate. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ca08598f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ca08598f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Wire | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ca08598f | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_d461f757 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_d461f757 | comment |
In the Season 3 finale of Battlestar Galactica (2003), Gaius Baltar is on trial for his role as The Quisling for the Cylons on New Caprica. When the matter of him signing execution orders for the local La Résistance members is brought up, he banks on the testimony of his confidante and loyalist, Felix Gaeta, who was the only other human in the room when the Cylons held a gun against Baltar's head forcing him to sign the orders. Unfortunately for Baltar, Felix had gone through a season-long Break the Cutie process and no longer held Baltar in any high regard. So, he lies under oath and claims that Baltar put up no resistance to the Cylons. The whole trial goes downhill from there. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_d461f757 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_d461f757 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Battlestar Galactica (2003) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_d461f757 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_df07d96e | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_df07d96e | comment |
Lois & Clark: This is invoked by the villains in "The People vs. Lois Lane", which deals with Lois being framed for murder. When Perry offers to testify as a character witness on Lois's behalf, the villains abduct Perry and replace him with a hologram that gives a false testimony to make Lois look guilty. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_df07d96e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_df07d96e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| LoisAndClark | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_df07d96e | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e5feb1e | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e5feb1e | comment |
Standard practice in the Ace Attorney series, where every defense witness is lying and/or mistaken about a key detail or three. Particular mention goes to a moment in the finale of the second game, where an assassin is called via remote link and confesses to the identity of his employer, which is strongly suggested to not be what he said to the prosecution in private. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e5feb1e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e5feb1e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ace Attorney (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e5feb1e | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e8cbe2d9 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e8cbe2d9 | comment |
They Drive by Night: Joe Fabrini is on trial for coercing Lana Carlsen to murder her husband Ed, with Lana herself being the key witness for the prosecution. Unknown to the prosecutor, Joe is completely innocent; Lana only accused him as retribution for not being romantically interested in her. Lana's guilt is also chipping away at her sanity. By the time Lana takes the stand, she's a Laughing Mad wreck who gives an incoherent testimony and claims her garage doors made her murder Ed. After she's finished, the prosecutor drops all charges against Joe. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e8cbe2d9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e8cbe2d9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| They Drive by Night | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e8cbe2d9 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e9805342 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e9805342 | comment |
She-Hulk (2004): Volume 2, Issue #3 has She-Hulk brought to trial by the Time Variance Authority for breaking time travel laws by trying to warn Hawkeye of his death. She-Hulk's friend Razorback decides to take the stand in her defense (her lawyer Southpaw doesn't call him to the stand, but Jen argues that his testimony can't hurt). Razorback recalls a story in which he and She-Hulk were delivering vaccines and were attacked by a hostile alien race. While fighting off the aliens, She-Hulk suffered a Wardrobe Malfunction which distracted the aliens, causing them to crash into an asteroid. The story causes the jury to burst into laughter, much to She-Hulk and Southpaw's annoyance and embarrassment. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e9805342 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e9805342 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| She-Hulk (2004) (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_e9805342 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ea4f62db | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ea4f62db | comment |
Parodied in Family Guy: In the episode "Petarded", Peter would call to the stand "The Ghost that Never Lies" (who was conveniently inaudible and invisible to everyone else but Peter). Said ghost still called Peter guilty. In "Friends of Peter G", Peter and Brian are arrested for public intoxication. During their trial, Peter tries to call his own hand as a character witness. However, his hand confesses to murder and Peter ends up withdrawing it as a witness. |
|
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ea4f62db | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ea4f62db | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Family Guy | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_ea4f62db | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_eeb094a8 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_eeb094a8 | comment |
A Few Good Men: The cross-examining of Pvt. Downey almost single-handedly derails the defense in the case of the murder of Pvt. Santiago when Ross manages to make Downey confess that he was not given the orders for the Code Red directly from his superiors, but rather that it was Pvt. Dawson (a man who would want Santiago dead as accuser and sole witness of the fence shooting Dawson allegedly did) who got them and told Downey to come along. As for why neither accused Marine told Kaffee this little bombshell before the trial, the answer is "You Didn't Ask". | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_eeb094a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_eeb094a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| A Few Good Men | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_eeb094a8 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_f3f3618e | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_f3f3618e | comment |
Halloween Unspectacular: In "The People vs. Frederick Showenhower", Freakshow and a bunch of other villains are put on trial, with Lionel Hutz defending them. Among his other acts of stupidity, his list of witnesses for the defense include all the heroes, whom he didn't properly vet and didn't know were enemies of his clients, and therefore not willing to testify for them. When he realizes this, he tries to call for a brief recess but is denied when the judge deduces that he wants a chance to Run for the Border. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_f3f3618e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_f3f3618e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Halloween Unspectacular (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_f3f3618e | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fb2991d8 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fb2991d8 | comment |
Justified: In "Guy Walks into a Bar," Raylan testifies at a pardon hearing for the imprisoned Dickie Bennett that he's a "thug" who's too dangerous to be released. However, he finishes his testimony by advising that Dickie be pardoned anyway. He reveals after the testimony that he hopes that Dickie will lead them to his criminal family's hidden wealth. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fb2991d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fb2991d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Justified | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fb2991d8 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fd691071 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fd691071 | comment |
Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2: Sal Maroni does this to Harvey Dent. He went to Dent promising to testify against the Falcone family in exchange for immunity, but on the stand he laughs in Dent's face and mocks Dent before throwing a bottle of acid at Dent, resulting in the creation of Two-Face. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fd691071 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fd691071 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Batman: The Long Halloween | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fd691071 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fda9c8b | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fda9c8b | comment |
Downton Abbey: Played for Drama when Robert Crawley testifies in his valet Bates' defense for the murder of his estranged wife. He's forced to admit that Bates had said he wished his wife was dead, contributing to Bates' wrongful conviction. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fda9c8b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fda9c8b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Downton Abbey | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fda9c8b | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fdf2e064 | type |
Backfire on the Witness Stand | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fdf2e064 | comment |
Nuremberg: The lawyer for Ernst Kaltenbrunner requests Rudolf Höss be brought in to testify on Kaltenbrunner's behalf. The prosecution doesn't object because it gave them to cross-examine Höss. In direction examination Höss testified Kaltenbrunner never visited Auschwitz as Kaltenbrunner hoped, but Höss noticeably hesitated when asked to confirm Kaltenbrunner never visited. During the course of the cross-examination Höss states that his people killed over 2.5 million people while he was commandant there. The testimony by Höss does nothing to help Kaltenbrunner escape a guilty verdict and death sentence at the end of the trial and likely helped seal the fate of a number of the other Nuremberg defendants as well.note The real-life Höss was himself later found guilty of war crimes and hanged in 1947. | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fdf2e064 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fdf2e064 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Nuremberg | hasFeature |
Backfire on the Witness Stand / int_fdf2e064 |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.