I’m pretty sure that most court trials don’t have fake juries and imposter criminals. But, to be fair, I’ve never been in a courtroom before. However, I’m fairly certain that when Florida attorney Brandon Dinetz stocked his jury with friends and family members, he knew what he was doing.

After all, he had a girlfriend to propose to. And since they were both attorneys, Dinetz knew this couldn’t be a normal proposal. S0 with five months of planning, he put on an elaborate fake trial and made sure Jen Lettman, his girlfriend, was in the front row.

The couple met in 2016 and Dinetz soon knew, he said, that Lettman was the one. He also knew, he said, that he needed to surprise her. So he got a real judge to preside over the ‘case’ and a real defense attorney to work with the fake defendant. For the fake DUI trial jury, he got 17 friends and family members of Lettman’s to sit in the jury box.

Brandon Dinetz, 30, from Palm Beach, Florida, popped the question to fellow lawyer Jen Lettman, 31, by planning a fake DUI trial. Photo by Dinetz

As he often did on big trial days, Dinetz said he asked Lettman to be there and hear his opening statement. As the trial got underway, everything seemed normal. “The judge came out and as usual she asked if the state and the defense were ready to proceed and we said ‘Yes we are,'” Dinetz said. “Then she said, ‘Bring in the Jury.'”

When we worked together we would regularly watch each other’s opening statements and critique each other, so it wasn’t unusual for me to be in the courtroom with him,” Lettman later said.

However, that all changed when the jury started taking their seats. Lettman said she knew right then that something was up. “I wasn’t really paying attention until I recognized that one of the jurors looked like Brandon’s dad, which I thought was funny,” she said.

Then I saw my dad and I was so confused. When I saw my sister I knew what was happening and I started crying,” Lettman said. And with that, Dinetz professed his love in front of the court, getting down on one knee. The ring he chose was personally designed and held a diamond from Lettman’s grandmother’s engagement ring.

The couple are finally husband and wife. Photo courtesy of Dinetz

What was the verdict, you ask? She said ‘yes’. “I ugly-cried throughout the whole thing. I don’t remember a lot, but luckily it was caught on camera,” Lettman added. “It’s in his nature to make a grand gesture but this time he went above and beyond. He’s such a caring and thoughtful person.”

The proposal was exactly as I hoped it would be,” Dinetz said.

The video of Dinetz’s proposal made headlines around the world. But, after covid struck, marriage plans were put on hold for a time. Once it was possible, with a smaller party than originally planned, the couple exchanged vows. ‘We had to plan a few weddings because Covid made the first one impossible,’ Dinetz said. ‘The second one fell through and the third one we were able to arrange.  

“But it was absolutely wonderful. The bottom line is that we wanted to get married and we did it,” he said. And, Dinetz added, the wedding was traditional. “Nobody expected me to do a law-themed wedding. There wasn’t going to be a big surprise, getting married was special enough,” he said, smiling. Watch below to see this beautifully unique proposal!

Sources: Inside Edition | Daily Mail