Difference between revisions of "Lionel Hutz"

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Lionel Hutz (b. 31st July 1963) is a character from the The Simpsons, voiced by Phil Hartman. The local lawyer, Hutz' first appearance was in the second-season episode Bart Gets Hit by a Car, and his final speaking role was in the ninth season's Realty Bites.

Character

He is an inept ambulance chaser and, to quote Lisa, a "shyster" whom the Simpsons nonetheless repeatedly hired as their lawyer (a fact remarked on by Marge in a typically self-aware aside). At one point, he claims to have graduated from Princeton school of law, although Princeton has never had a law school. His legal practice, located in a shopping mall, was named "I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm!". He often tried to entice potential clients with free gifts, including a "smoking monkey" doll and a business card that "turns into a sponge when you put it in water."

Creation

Hutz was characterized as both an incompetent lawyer with little or no knowledge of the actual law^[1] and an unethical individual in general; for instance, in the season 4 episode Marge in Chains he described the following as his "problem" with Judge Snyder:

Well he's had it in for me ever since I kinda ran over his dog... Well, replace the word "kinda" with the word "repeatedly," and the word "dog" with "son.".

Disabilities

Hutz was a recovering addict; also in Marge in Chains, he hastily left the courtroom after handling a bottle of bourbon in order to consult his sponsor, musician David Crosby. Also, Hutz referred to bourbon as "brownest of the brown liquors" and offered to share with Marge and Homer "a belt of scotch" at 9AM, explaining that he "hadn't slept in days."

Jobs Oustside of Law

Beyond the law, he also tried his hand at selling real estate in Realty Bites. Hutz was briefly married to Selma Bouvier, although this storyline was not shown in an episode. When Homer hired him to babysit the Simpson children, he had renamed himself Miguel Sanchez following some trouble that prompted him to change his identity. At some point, he apparently went by the alias Dr. Nguyen Van Phuoc, a Vietnamese name. He may also be a drug dealer.

Cases won

Although Hutz loses almost all of his cases, he did win several cases for the Simpsons, for instance representing Homer in his case against Captain McAllister and the Frying Dutchman restaurant over its "All You Can Eat" offer. While the Blue Haired Lawyer tried to show that Homer's eating was far beyond what could reasonably be expected out of an all-you-can-eat offer, Hutz won by putting Marge on the stand and having her reveal the desperate actions she and Homer took after they were kicked out of the restaurant. At Hutz´ urging, Marge tearfully admitted that after searching for another All You Can Eat fish restaurant until 3AM, Homer and Marge "went fishing." Considering Marge's honest nature, it is unlikely that she was lying. Captain McAllister was then forced to settle out of court with Homer.

Another case he won for one of the Simpsons was when Bart Simpson discovered that an old tramp named Chester J. Lampwick was the real creator of The Itchy & Scratchy Show, which was proved by an old drawing by Lampwick. Roger Myers (who had falsely claimed credit for the creation) then had to pay him $800 billion, which forced the Itchy & Scratchy Studios to close down for a short time.

Hutz additionally represented Homer in a Treehouse of Horror episode, against the Devil (Ned Flanders). At issue was the rightful owner of Homer Simpson's soul. In a hastily assembled courtroom in the Simpsons' living room, before a jury of the damned, Hutz discussed competently the nature of a contract, although his argument ironically was harmful to Homer. Despite the fact that the contract between Homer and the Devil clearly awarded Homer's soul to the Devil upon Homer's consumption of the 'forbidden donut', the jury ruled that Homer had in fact given his soul to Marge years earlier, and thus the soul was not his to give to the Devil. In retribution for losing the court case, Homer was cursed by the Devil and his head was turned into a giant donut. The case was not won so much for Hutz's skill as an attorney, but by Marge's introduction of the relevant evidence (a photo with a note from Homer on the back, granting his soul to Marge).

Retirement

The character was retired after Hartman's murder in 1998, as well as his other main character Troy McClure. Since the Simpson family frequently appears in court,^[2] other characters have represented the Simpsons in legal matters since the retirement. For example, in Sweets and Sour Marge, the equally-incompetent Gil stepped in. The Blue Haired Lawyer has also served as the family's attorney. Lionel Hutz still appears infrequently in clip shows and flashbacks, as well as crowd scenes, but only in non-speaking roles. Hutz and McClure still appear in Simpsons Comics, as a voice actor is not needed.

Episode Appearances