Accused Robber Gets New Trial After Jurors Find New Evidence in Coat
Always check the pockets.
December 2007
Jury Finds Pool Store Not Liable For Goose Attack
Earlier this month, a jury in Maryland found against a woman who sued a shopping mall and pool store in Rockville after being attacked by a goose while on the mall’s property in 2004. Suzanne Webster said the goose’s ferocious…
Man Who Told Sentencing Judge He Was “Bored” Will Spend Seven Exciting Years in Jail
Lance Majors of Poughkeepsie, New York, the new poster boy for Not Giving A Damn, will have several years to think about whether telling the judge you’re bored during your sentencing hearing is a good idea. Majors, who was being…
Hindu Gods Ignore Court Summons
Ram and Hanuman apparently have not been answering their mail.
How to Avoid Jury Duty, #6: Bring a Sword to the Courthouse
I'm just now starting to number these, and am going to call this #6. As a quick recap, here are what I am considering 1-5: After Being Asked Whether You Can Be Fair, Pause for a Really Long Time; Have a…
Snowball-Assault Case to Be Retried This Week After Mistrial
Colorado sources report that a mistrial was declared Friday, December 7, in the trial of Andrew Thistleton. Thistleton, an Australian, faces criminal assault charges due to an incident last season at Copper Mountain ski resort, where he and the victim…
Feuding Newport Beach Fortune-Teller Clans Take Dispute to Court
One clan was apparently horning in on the other clan’s territory.
First Santa Attack of 2007 Results in Arrest
In what I believe was the first Santa-related attack of 2007, a college student in Missoula, Montana, was charged with misdemeanor assault last Friday after he hit a shopping-mall Santa in the face with a pie. The assaulter, a 22-year-old…
Cartoon Characters Subpoenaed
Last Friday, a court in Naples, Italy, sent trial subpoenas to Mickey Mouse, Tweety, and Donald and Daisy Duck, in what appears to have been a clerical error. The defendant awaiting trial there is charged with counterfeiting Disney and Warner…
Ninth Circuit Applies “Slubby Mass” Rule to Dismiss Appeal
On November 29, the Ninth Circuit again applied the Slubby Mass Rule to reject an appellant’s brief and dismiss the appeal. In case you did not learn this one in law school, this rule provides that any pleading presented to…