As a judge, I was sentencing criminal defendants when I saw a vaguely familiar face. I reviewed his record and found that the man was a career criminal, except for a five-year period in which there were no convictions.
“Milton,” I asked, puzzled, “how is it you were able to stay out of trouble for those five years?”
“I was in prison,” he answered. “You should know that—you were the one who sent me there.”
“That’s not possible,” I said. “I wasn’t even a judge then.”
“No, you weren’t the judge,” the defendant countered, smiling mischievously. “You were my lawyer.”