So what is this offensive joke that I don’t know anything about…. something called The Shocker?
— Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, professing ignorance of the infamous hand gesture while presiding over Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi yesterday afternoon.
I laughed along with everyone else at the judge’s ignorance, but after I left court I realized: I don’t know what “The Shocker” is either! So I looked it up — and got grossed out. Judge Hellerstein, please take judicial notice of this:
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UPDATE (1/17/2015, 1:30 p.m.): The Shocker came up at trial because Monteverde allegedly made the obscene gesture at a lunch attended by several Faruqi & Faruqi employees, which supposedly triggered Nadeem Faruqi’s “one day you’re going to cost this firm a lot of money” comment.
UPDATE (1/23/2015, 7:00 a.m.): A correction to the prior update: Monteverde’s alleged use of “The Shocker” did not take place at the same time as Nadeem Faruqi’s alleged “one of these days, Juan, you are going to cost this firm a lot of money” comment. In a motion to strike the entire testimony of Kerrianne Goodwin, the former Faruqi employee who testified about these matters, the defendants cite my error to support their claim that Goodwin’s testimony was confusing and prejudicial. But I should clarify: I wasn’t in court the day that she testified, so my misunderstanding shouldn’t be attributed to the jurors, who were present for Goodwin’s testimony. (I was trying to piece together Goodwin’s testimony based on arguments of counsel made after the fact and outside the presence of the jury.)
Shocker (hand gesture) [Wikipedia]
Earlier: Alexandra Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi: A Prickly Pear
Alexandra Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi: 5 Observations From Inside The Courtroom
Alexandra Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi: Time To Pick A Jury