Did you ever wonder whatever happened to that kid in school  who had  every excuse in the book and they all made “the dog ate my homework” pale by comparison? You guessed it — he grew up and became a lawyer! And not just any garden variety lawyer, but one with what Liam Neeson’s Taken character would call “a particular set of skills” when it comes to the art of the continuance. Most lawyers, however, are nowhere as creative or smooth when it comes to seeking a delay, and they just have to rely on the plain old truth. And then there are those who come up with the worst ways to get a continuance, like the walking cautionary tales below.

I.  Don’t Make A Bomb Threat

Syracuse lawyer Jacqueline B. Jones pleaded guilty to phoning in a bomb threat on February 26, 2015 to the daycare center located in the federal courts building where she had a hearing that day. Jones was scheduled to be in court that afternoon for a sanctions hearing against her in a civil rights case she was defending. Jones, who was 47 years old at the time was not successful. The hearing went forward without her, despite the alarm as a search of the courthouse was conducted and nearly 600 people (including 70 children in the daycare center) sheltered in place. Jones admitted later she made the threat to avoid the hearing and was sentenced by a federal judge to one year of probation and a $20,000 fine. Her law license was also suspended for a year by the New York Supreme Court.

II.  Really — Don’t Make a Bomb Threat