Lawyer's pants catch fire during arson trial

Rob Quinn

Newser Staff

Prosecutors are considering charging Stephen Gutierrez with contempt of court, according to one report.

Lawyer, lawyer, pants on fire.

Jurors trying to assess the truthfulness of defense lawyer Stephen Gutierrez's closing arguments in an arson trial Wednesday may have been dismayed to notice that his pants were literally on fire. Witnesses say the lawyer had to flee the Miami courtroom with smoke billowing from his pocket, the Miami Herald reports. When he returned, the lawyer, who'd been seen fiddling in his pocket, blamed a faulty e-cigarette battery. Gutierrez said the bizarre pocket blaze wasn't an attempt to demonstrate the innocence of his client, who was accused of setting his own car on fire. Gutierrez argued that the vehicle spontaneously combusted.

The jury found his client guilty of second-degree arson, and prosecutors are considering charging Gutierrez with contempt of court, the Herald reports. The bizarre incident already is making headlines in lawyer blogs and overseas newspapers. "I swear this is not a lawyer joke," was the NPR intro to the nugget. And CNET notes that the lawyer has declined to respond to the media's requests for comment, which "leaves several burning questions unanswered." (The owner of this Jeep can probably sympathize.)

This story originally appeared on Newser:

He Argued That His Client Was Innocent. Then His Pants Caught Fire