A defense lawyer’s pants caught on fire while defending a case. No, it’s not a bad joke — it actually happened in Miami courtroom Wednesday.
Stephen Gutierrez was defending his client in an arson case, when witnesses told the Miami Herald he was fiddling around with something in his pocket. Moments later, smoke was seen swirling from Gutierrez’s pants.
Jurors were ushered out of the courtroom, and Gutierrez returned shortly after with singed pants, blaming the incident on a faulty e-cigarette battery. He was not harmed during the incident.
According to WPLG-TV, Miami-Dade police and prosecutors are currently investigating the incident. Gutierrez’s client is accused of setting a car fire, and at the time of the e-cigarette explosion, Gutierrez was arguing that the car spontaneously combusted.
The client was found guilty of second-degree arson. If authorities find that Gutierrez acted inappropriately, he could he held in contempt of court.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
