catchphrase / said by James
The white trash defense
What does "The white trash defense" mean on Small Town Murder?
James's name for the argument in the Phillips, Oklahoma case that a jury could not understand poor white trash culture. The show uses it as shorthand for an outrageous white-trash excuse for murder, and later as the title of the Crime and Sports bonus episode.
- Kind
- catchphrase
- Usually said by
- James
- First heard
- Episode 59, 28 February 2018
The story behind the phrase
Where did "The white trash defense" come from?
James teases it at the end of episode 59 as a preview of the next week: a case in which people "claim white trash as a defense in court". In episode 60 he reads from the court documents, which say the jury lacked knowledge of the "white trash subculture" needed to understand the testimony.
The hosts could not believe a defence was built on it. James says "I swear to Christ he is claiming white trash", and Jimmie, who happily calls himself white trash, says he counts as the man's peer and is not buying it.
How is "The white trash defense" used now?
It stays the name for that case, the Phillips, Oklahoma one. James recalls it in episode 189 as an episode where a man "literally used the white trash defense", with the dry detail that the jury was all white, and in episode 190 he says the hosts found the source material behind the argument. It works as shorthand for an outrageous excuse of this sort.
When was "The white trash defense" first said?
It was first heard in episode 59, "A Picturesque Murder House", on 28 February 2018, at about 0:30:11.
"They they actually, I'll give you a just a preview of next week's episode, they they claim white trash as a defense in court."
At the end of the episode James teases next week's case, saying the killers claimed white trash as a defence in court and that the court documents said the jury did not understand white trash culture. It looks coined there as a label for the Phillips, Oklahoma argument; episode 060 spells the defence out, and by 189 it is an established name the audience is expected to remember.
Heard in these episodes
Found by searching the transcripts; speech recognition can miss a use.
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