Editing Lionel Hutz

{{Character
|name = Lionel Hutz
|image = [[File:Lionel Hutz.png|200px]]
|gender = {{Male}}
|hair = Brown
|age = 
|status = Alive
|job = Various
|relatives = '''Ex-Wife:''' [[Selma Bouvier]]
|appearance = "[[Bart Gets Hit by a Car]]"
|voiced by = [[Phil Hartman]]
}}

'''Lionel Hutz''' is a lawyer in [[Springfield]], albeit an incompetent one, who is always desperate for cases, few of which he wins. Hutz is financially unsound, extremely poor and willing to do nearly anything for cash.

== Character ==
He is an inept ambulance chaser and, to quote [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]], a "shyster" whom the Simpsons nonetheless repeatedly hired as their lawyer (a fact remarked on by [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] in a typically self-aware aside) most likely because they can't afford a better lawyer. 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" to which [[Homer Simpson]] was impressed with. Lionel Hutz is an occasional person to appear in The Simpsons' lives and sometimes plays central roles in events involving them. Marge distrusts Lionel Hutz because he is an incompetent lawyer, even remarking once during a trial "We really should stop hiring him." Hutz was also briefly married to [[Selma Bouvier]], as when Homer asks her to marry Apu for his citizenship she says her name with 3 husband names added (Terwilliger, Hutz, McClure) and was long enough without Apu's long surname.

== Disabilities ==
[[File:LH-Business C.png|thumb|right|Hutz spongy business card.]]
Hutz is a recovering addict; also at one time 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." He believes the American Bar Association is a drinking association, plus he uses a fork to comb his hair.<ref name="Skybox">''[[Skybox (cards)|Skybox]]''</ref>

== Career ==
Lionel got his lawyer degree from a garage sale at the Diddle Diddle Day Care Center. He specializes in the art of ''enhanced'' testimony, and uses dramatic effect to impress the judge and jury alike. He strongly believes that surprise witness  make the most impact in court, so that he once called [[Abraham Lincoln|Abe Lincoln]] to the stand. Hutz is such a bad lawyer that on his worst case a client got the death penalty from a parking ticket dispute.<ref name="Skybox"/>

== Beyond the law ==
Beyond the law, he also tried his hand at selling real estate.<ref>Episode ''[[Realty Bites]]''</ref> 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 and burn all his personal papers, and he was also known as '''Dr. Nguyen Van Phuoc''', a Vietnamese name, in addition to Mr. Sanchez. He also won the role as 'Mitch' in the musical adaption of 'A Street Car Named Desire', whilst simultaneously suing the troupe on behalf of the people who were not cast. He may also be a drug dealer, as when Milhouse lands the role of Fallout Boy, Hutz barges up to him and one of the services offered was "drug deal- errrrrr.... keeper awayer". He has also attended an adult education course.

== Cases won ==
[[File:I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm!.png|thumb|Hutz law firm [[I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm!‎]].]]
Although Hutz loses almost all of his cases, he did win several cases for the Simpsons, for instance representing [[Homer Simpson|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. The case was helped by the fact that the entire jury was made up of obese jurors. Captain McAllister then struck a deal with Homer, offering him all he could eat in exchange for using him as a sort of freakshow attraction to get more customers.<ref>"[[New Kid on the Block]]"</ref>

Another case he won for one of the Simpsons was when [[Bart]] 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. Although this had nothing to do with Hutz's skills as a lawyer.<ref>"[[The Day the Violence Died]]"</ref>

Hutz also won another case when Bart sued Krusty after he got appendicitis after eating a piece of jagged metal that was being given away as a prize in his cereal that wasn't even in the safety package all prizes are held in. The case was won and Bart was given $100,000 in compensation. $99,500 of which was taken by Hutz who'd assembled a team of phony lawyers to make it seem to Bart that it was necessary.<ref>"[['Round Springfield]]"</ref>

=== Non-canon ===
Hutz additionally represented Homer 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 found a note from Homer to Marge saying that he pledged his soul to her for all eternity thus his soul was not to rightfully give up to the Devil causing them rule in favor of Homer. 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 (the photo with a note from Homer on the back, granting his soul to Marge).<ref>"[[Treehouse of Horror IV]]"</ref>

== Behind the Laughter ==
=== Retirement ===
The character was retired after [[Phil Hartman|Hartman's murder]] in 1998, as well as his other main character [[Troy McClure]]. Since the Simpson family frequently appears in court,<ref>Often enough for Lisa, in ''[[The Parent Rap]]'' to be on a first-name basis with a court officer.</ref> other characters have represented the Simpsons in legal matters since the retirement,&nbsp; ranging from just as incompetent to actually knowing what they're doing. For example, in ''[[Sweets and Sour Marge]]'', the equally-incompetent [[Gil Gunderson|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.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Lionel Hutz Troy McClure Moe Baby Blues.png|Lionel Hutz (below in green), with fellow Hartman character, [[Troy McClure]] in a non-speaking cameo in "[[Moe Baby Blues]]".
</gallery>

== Appearances ==
{{scroll|
*{{ep|Bart Gets Hit by a Car}}
*{{ep|Old Money}}
*{{ep|When Flanders Failed}}
*{{ep|Bart the Murderer}}
*{{ep|Flaming Moe's}}
*{{ep|A Streetcar Named Marge}}
*{{ep|Marge Gets a Job}}
*{{ep|New Kid on the Block}}
*{{ep|Marge vs. the Monorail}}
*{{ep|Selma's Choice}}
*{{ep|Duffless}}
*{{ep|Marge in Chains}}
*{{ep|Rosebud}}
*{{ep|Marge on the Lam}}
*{{ep|Treehouse of Horror IV}}
*{{ep|Bart's Inner Child}}
*{{ep|The Last Temptation of Homer}}
*{{ep|Homer the Vigilante}}
*{{ep|The Boy Who Knew Too Much}}
*{{ep|Burns' Heir}}
*{{ep|Secrets of a Successful Marriage}}
*{{ep|Sideshow Bob Roberts}}
*{{ep|Homer the Great}}
*{{ep|'Round Springfield}}
*{{ep|The Springfield Connection}}
*{{ep|Who Shot Mr. Burns?}}
*{{ep|Radioactive Man}}
*{{ep|Lisa the Iconoclast}}
*{{ep|The Day the Violence Died}}
*{{ep|22 Short Films About Springfield}}
*{{ep|Much Apu About Nothing}}
*{{ep|Burns, Baby Burns}}
*{{ep|Bart After Dark}}
*{{ep|Hurricane Neddy}}
*{{ep|The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show}}
*{{ep|Brother from Another Series}}
*{{ep|In Marge We Trust}}
*{{ep|The Principal and the Pauper}}
*{{ep|Lisa the Skeptic}}
*{{ep|Realty Bites}}
*{{ep|Trash of the Titans}}
*{{ep|The Trouble with Trillions}}
*{{ep|Lost Our Lisa|(non-speaking)}}
*{{ep|The Joy of Sect}}
*{{ep|A Tale of Two Springfields|(non-speaking)}}
*{{ep|Moe Baby Blues|(non-speaking)}}
*{{mov|(cameo)}}
*{{bon|The Amazing Colossal Homer}}
*{{bk|Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1-20}}

== References ==
{{Images}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Lawyers}}
{{Simpsons World factfiles|2=yes}}
{{Simpsons characters}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutz, Lionel}}

[[Category:Adults]]
[[Category:Retired characters]]
[[Category:Characters voiced by Phil Hartman]]
[[Category:Recurring characters]]
[[Category:Characters introduced in season 2]]
[[Category:Characters voiced by guest stars]]