--- description: Though it's usually just a figure of speech, a defense lawyer literally had "pants on fire" as he addressed a jury in Miami Wednesday. title: A Lawyer's Pants Literally Catch Fire During Arson Trial image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72cc1cffe0d1c11e/6988bdc5a988ca2de96bb4f0/court-miami.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Lawyer's Pants Literally Catch Fire During Arson Trial  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 9, 2017 6:02 PM CUT  Paul Bradbury—Getty Images/Caiaimage  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 9, 2017 6:02 PM CUT It’s not just a metaphor anymore: a defense lawyer [literally](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/03/09/lawyers-pants-catch-fire-during-arson-trial/98948050/ "undefined") had “pants on fire” as he [addressed a jury](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article137317553.html "undefined") in Miami Wednesday. Stephen Gutierrez was about to deliver closing remarks in an arson case, contending that his client didn’t intentionally set fire to his car, but that it spontaneously combusted. When he began fiddling with his pocket, the [Miami _Herald_ reports](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article137317553.html "undefined"), smoke began emerging and he ran out of the courtroom. The jurors were removed from the courtroom and Gutierrez returned with a “singed pocket,” but maintained that his own spontaneous combustion was not an act. Witnesses told the _Herald_ that Gutierrez blamed [an e-cigarette](http://time.com/4393022/exploding-e-cigarette-lawsuit/ "undefined") in his pocket. A Miami-Dade Circuit Judge could decide to hold Gutierrez in contempt of court, the _Herald_ adds. Jurors found his client guilty of the arson charges. \[[_Miami Herald_](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article137317553.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4697010/miami-lawyer-pants-fire-arson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4697010/miami-lawyer-pants-fire-arson/"},"headline":"A Lawyer's Pants Literally Catch Fire During Arson Trial","datePublished":"2017-03-09T18:02:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:46:05.306Z","description":"Smoke emerged from a Miami attorney's pocket during his closing statement","url":"https://time.com/4697010/miami-lawyer-pants-fire-arson/","keywords":["Crime","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72cc1cffe0d1c11e/6988bdc5a988ca2de96bb4f0/court-miami.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72cc1cffe0d1c11e/6988bdc5a988ca2de96bb4f0/court-miami.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Courtroom","caption":"Courtroom","creditText":"Paul Bradbury—Getty Images/Caiaimage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4697010/miami-lawyer-pants-fire-arson/","name":"A Lawyer's Pants Literally Catch Fire During Arson Trial"}}]}] ```