Print Column
The Old Woman and her Rotten Grandson
By Elissa Bernstein
The old woman lay lifeless in a pool of blood.
The detectives searched her house for clues.
Nothing.
A few days later, her grandson, Brad, was caught driving her car.
The police charged Brad with theft and threw him into a cell.
“He’s our prime murder suspect,” the police chief barked. “But we’ve got no evidence.”
They needed a confession to nail Brad for the murder.
“Call in an undercover cop. Wire him up and send him into Brad’s cell to talk to him,” the chief ordered.
The undercover cop posed as a criminal. He started chatting up Brad.
“Well, ain’t this a lousy joint,” the undercover cop complained.
“Dirty cops had it in for me. They’re always framing me for stuff.”
Brad nodded. “Yeah….I hate cops…”
They talked about everything... cars, dames, dope…
And little old grandmothers.
It worked.
“My granny looks all sweet and nice, but the truth is, she’s a nasty piece of work,” the undercover cop scowled. “Luckily, she ain’t too swift. Didn’t even notice the jewelery I helped myself to.”
“My granny was even worse,” Brad muttered. “Nagging me like there was no tomorrow. So I done the old lady in. Couldn’t take it no more,” Brad bragged.
Brad was charged with murder and brought to trial.
IN THE COURTROOM
“Open and shut case, Your Honor,” the prosecutor argued with confidence. “This rat confessed. Lock him up for life.”
Brad fought for his freedom. “No fair! I was tricked. I would never have confessed if I’d known the guy was an undercover cop. Acquit me.”
Should Brad be convicted for murder? You! be the Judge.
THE DECISION
“Guilty, Brad!” held the Judge. “You didn’t realize you were confessing to someone in authority. You thought the undercover cop was a criminal, so the confession is admissible.”
We are proud to bring you some of the current legal issues from across
the country for discussion and debate. To provide compelling entertainment,
we have fictionalized the names, the characters and the scenarios in the
case. Any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental. In the interest
of clarity and brevity, the legal issues in the case have been greatly
reduced and simplified. Elissa Bernstein is a lawyer and nationally syndicated
columnist. Copyright 2007 Haika Enterprises AS1-1 (AS1-6).
Newspaper readers have been enjoying the You! be the Judge column for more than 15 years.
Finally, we hit the screen!
Madcap, over-the-top comedy and musical sketches based on actual court cases combining the sitcom, the courtroom drama, and the whodunit. You’ll laugh! And you’ll learn!
You want to be a sponsor?
© Copyright 2008 Haika Enterprises Inc.