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Lionel Hutz is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He was voiced by Phil Hartman, and his first appearance was in the season two episode "Bart Gets Hit by a Car". Hutz is a stereotypical shady ambulance chasing lawyer in Springfield, with questionable competence and ethics. Nevertheless, he is often hired by Simpson family. His final speaking role was in the season nine episode "Realty Bites" in December 1997; the character was retired five months later following Hartman's death at the hands of his wife. Hutz has since appeared as an occasional non-speaking background character.
Hutz is characterized as both a grossly incompetent lawyer and an unethical individual in general. This is supported in his first appearance in "Bart Gets Hit by a Car", an episode which also demonstrates his greed as he wants half of the Simpsons' settlement money. Hutz is disliked and mistrusted by both Marge and Lisa. In "Bart Gets Hit by a Car", Marge ultimately testifies against Hutz for hiring Dr. Nick, a quackery with a shady reputation, and for making Bart lie about his injuries. Hutz's incompetence and greed are also noted by his rival, the more competent Blue Haired Lawyer. In the episode "Marge in Chains" Hutz describes 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".
Hutz is characterized as a recovering alcoholic. In one episode he offers Marge a celebratory "belt of Scotch whiskey" at 9:30 in the morning, remarking that he had not slept in days. In the same episode, he hastily leaves the courtroom after handling a bottle of Bourbon whiskey in order to consult his sponsor, David Crosby. He then gives his closing statement, unaware that he is not wearing any pants, and thinks that Clarence Darrow was "the black guy on The Mod Squad". Beyond practicing law, he also tries his hand at selling real estate, reasoning that it was a natural move as most of his clients ended up losing their homes anyway. Out of desperation for work, he has resorted to babysitting. Hutz, left in charge of the children for longer than he was hired, nods off in a sitting position; he produces a switchblade upon awakening suddenly. He burns all of his personal documentation in the Simpsons fireplace, claiming that "Lionel Hutz" no longer exists and he is now "Miguel Sanchez". His other alias is "Dr. Nguyen Van Phuoc". Hutz's incompetence and financial desperation sometimes lead him to resort to rooting through dumpsters, claiming it is client-related. Hutz was briefly married to Selma Bouvier, although this storyline is not shown in an episode and instead mentioned in "Much Apu About Nothing.” In “Selma's Choice,” Hutz attempts to get his hands on the Bouvier sisters’ Aunt Gladys' inheritance. When he was caught forging Gladys' signature by Marge and Lisa, Hutz was forced to properly read the will and give Marge's family Gladys' inheritance. Hutz has also been known to use a phone booth as an office.
Hutz does not seem to care about conflict of interest; in "A Streetcar Named Marge" he represents clients in a lawsuit against the producers of a local production of A Streetcar Named Desire for not giving them any roles in the play, although he had a role himself.
Another display of his incompetence takes place in "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" when, while representing a French people waiter who is accusing Mayor Quimby's nephew Freddy of battery, he is surprised when the opposing counsel mentions that Hutz's client is an immigrant (despite the client's French accent). Hutz then demands that his client tell him everything from then on. Browning wrote that his "courtroom skills leave something to be desired"; in the episode "Marge in Chains", he motions for a "bad court thingy", to which the judge replies "You mean a mistrial?", and then refers to himself as the "law-talking guy"."Marge in Chains"
The only other case technically won by Hutz was in "Treehouse of Horror IV", where he represents Homer against Satan (who, in a twist, is revealed to resemble Ned Flanders). In a purportedly-deleted scene for this episode, as subsequently seen in "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular", Hutz's slogan is "Cases won in 30 minutes or your pizza is free". After he thinks he has lost the case, he gives the Simpsons their pizza. However, Marge informs him that they did win. Then, he tells them that the box was empty anyway. In the video game , billboards can be seen around Downtown Springfield promoting Hutz's free pizza offer.
After Hartman's death in 1998, Hutz was going to be recast with Harry Shearer, but the character was retired along with Troy McClure, Hartman's other recurring character. The last episode to feature Hutz speaking was the season 9 episode "Realty Bites".
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