Georgia Judge Flubs Verdict, Tells Defendant He’s Guilty (He Wasn’t)

We've all seen how the court proceedings work, one of those high profile cases where we all sat waiting the verdict. OJ, Casey Anthony, the Menendez brothers, the list goes on and on.

It's a tense situation, the jury foreman walks and hands the judge a piece of paper, the judge then reads it off for them, going charge by charge giving "Find the defendant guilty" or "Find the defendant not guilty." There's one really important word in there, and it's the word not.

A judge in Georgia has gone viral with many critiquing his slip-up, some laughing, and some outraged.

The defendant, Alton Oliver, was on trial for a 2022 killing of a Fulton County deputy, and was facing six counts - 3 of which were murder charges.

After talking with the jury to confirm the paperwork handed to him was correct, he began reading.

“We the jury find the defendant guilty as to all six counts.”

Oliver and the legal team he had with him all sat in silence but people in the courtroom started asking about the judges reading, and he had to check the paperwork again.

"Didn't I say "not?" the judge asked, which a bunch of people replied, "NO!"

He apologized, then re-read the statement. People in the courtroom laughed and applauded. Oliver hugged his legal team.

Earlier in the week, Oliver testified that he acted in self-defense when he shot Deputy James Thomas after Thomas repeatedly drove by Oliver and made unwanted sexual advances, WXIA reported.

Read more at NBC News