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Courtroom Antics & Trial Oddities


Already posted in the Courtroom thread.
 
Judge tells man 'you're a bit of a cunt yourself' as she jails him for vile racist insults

He looks like a Sontaran.
p0145srn


Yet he looks such a lovely fella.

PAY-John-Hennigan.jpg
 
I'm pretty sure I've seen this sort of scenario depicted in one or more movies / TV shows, but I think this is the first time I've encountered a real-life account.

Louisiana judge orders man’s mouth taped for interruptions

Court logs show a Louisiana district court judge ordered a man’s mouth be taped shut for repeatedly interrupting proceedings.

The Acadiana Advocate reports Michael C. Duhon was being sentenced July 18 for theft and money laundering.

Court minutes show Duhon objected when Judge Marilyn Castle asked him to stop submitting motions on his own behalf instead of through his attorney. After repeatedly requesting for Duhon to be quiet, Castle ordered the bailiff to tape Duhon’s mouth shut.

The tape was removed after an objection from Duhon’s public defense attorney, Aaron Adams, who requested the judge remove his client from the courtroom instead.

Castle sentenced Duhon to 11 years in prison and recommended he be transferred to a facility with mental health treatment options. ...

SOURCE: https://www.apnews.com/c0faf59270f443fda77a14bb5a4ffe26
 
Woody Allen is gagged in his character's trial in Bananas...
 
Magic fails to fix broken marriage

Russian man's court win after magic fails to return wife
_68210252_papericon.jpg
By News from Elsewhere......as found by BBC Monitoring
  • A man in Siberia has won hundreds of thousands of roubles in compensation after magicians failed to make his estranged wife return.
    The man from the city of Omsk, only named as M.E.A. in court documents, was devastated when his wife left him in August 2017.
    But one TV advert made him hopeful: It promised to "return your wife or loved woman", and also remove various types of curse. But things didn't turn out as he had hoped.
etc

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-ne...2GR_5qfcq3O7hVAs5sRkWNth2Hl6WCipC49RSjrNuiias
 
Why I want to reclaim the C-word for myself
Judge under fire for using the C-word in court in response to swearing defendant

Thu, Aug 18, 2016, 01:05
Anthea McTeirnan

In this foul-mouthed world there is one word that still has the power to get people hot under the collar. It did in Britain last week, anyway.

John Hennigan (50), who had breached his anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) by using racist language towards a black woman and her two children, told Chelmsford crown court judge Patricia Lynch QC last week that she was “a bit of a c***”.

Judge Lynch replied, with learned accuracy: “You are a bit of a c*** yourself.”

When Hennigan screamed back “Go f*** yourself”, the judge replied: “You too.” (And no, neither of them used asterisks in this exchange).

Hennigan, who reportedly also shouted “Sieg Heil” and banged the glass panel of the dock, was jailed for 18 months. He got an Asbo in 2005 when a swastika was discovered daubed on the front door of his council house. Given the charge in front of Hennigan, and his own linguistic choices, Judge Lynch’s use of base language sounded quite eloquent. She is now a hero in any language.

In spite of her social media hero status, Lynch has incurred the wrath of Britain’s Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, which handles complaints made about judges both in and outside court. The body reported that it had received a number of complaints about the incident. They have not reported if their response will be a Hennigan-inspired “Go f*** yourself” as their verdict is not yet in.

Damage
The “C-word”, as we must refer to it, if only to smuggle it past The Irish Times’ firewall, has been resting outside the firewall of the modern vernacular for a long time.
Never has a four-letter word f***ed with so many heads. No, not even the F-word has done such damage.

In 1796 Francis Grose said the C-word was “a nasty name for a nasty thing”. Almost four centuries later, the Oxford English Dictionary explains the word’s commonest contexts as both “female external genital organs” and as a “term of vulgar abuse”. ...

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/w...est&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news_digest
That is sooo funny...it has made my week!
 
Some Cornish can be a tad touchy.

A barrister at a drugs conspiracy trial has apologised after a juror complained about "degrading and discriminatory" language towards Cornish people.

Defence barrister Ramsay Quaife used the phrase "the Cornish way" three times at Truro Crown Court.

After a juror raised the matter with the judge, Mr Quaife apologised, saying "no offence was intended".

Nine people are on trial in connection with an alleged conspiracy to supply drugs from London to Cornwall.

The man accused of being the ringleader, Jerome Douglas, denies running the drugs operation from his prison cell.

The court heard Mr Douglas knew nothing about it and only spoke to his co-defendants on the phone about matters not related to drugs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-49526049
 
Some judges can be rather demanding.

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives.” So reads the Oscar Wilde quote that opens a document instructing legal staff on the dietary preferences of Supreme Court Justice Peter Charleton.

The list, thought to be compiled by a member of the judge’s staff called a judicial assistant, offers a brief glimpse into the punctilious life of the staff who work for the State’s great legal minds.

In a two-page excerpt of the section entitled “getting food”, the judicial assistant recommends there are certain staples “that you’ll want to familiarise yourself with, as you’ll be buying these very often”.

Judge Charleton is very specific that he only wants English Eating Apples. This means only certain varieties will do. The most commonly available ones in Marks and Spencer are Cox’s and Braeburn, so if you can get one of these two do so. You really want to get the thin Orkney oatcakes, specifically, nothing else will do. They only sell these in Fallon and Byrne on Wicklow Street, so make a trip up there about once a month and buy about 7 or 8 packs of them.” ...

“The mackerel that you’ll buy in Marks and Spencer cannot be served as is, but must have its skin removed. Use a flat bladed knife to peel the skin and once you have enough of it prised off from the main part of the fish, you can pull the rest off with your fingers.” ...

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/supreme-court-judge-s-very-specific-dietary-choices-outlined-for-legal-staff-1.4084315
 
This is one strongly single-minded lady.
Woman on trial charged with stealing evidence -- her own gun

A woman on trial for pulling out a loaded pistol inside an Alaska bar last year faces new charges after authorities say she stole the gun from an evidence box inside the courtroom.

Tiffany Flenaugh, 29, was jailed Tuesday on new charges of felony theft, possessing a firearm in a courthouse, evidence tampering and violating conditions of release, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. ...

Flenaugh was arrested on Oct. 21, 2018, at a downtown Fairbanks bar and charged with assault, weapons misconduct and resisting arrest. A bartender concluded she was intoxicated and refused to serve her. Prosecutors say she pulled out a .45-caliber handgun, waived it around, fought with three bouncers and fought with police officers who responded.

At the trial Tuesday, Flenaugh’s unloaded pistol had been introduced as evidence and secured with a zip tie, Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Chuck Inderrieden said. The gun was in an evidence box near the judge’s bench.

During a break in the jury trial, only Flenaugh, a prosecutor and a clerk were in the courtroom.

Witnesses say Flenaugh approached the evidence box and reached for it until the assistant district attorney told her to stop.

Flenaugh left the courtroom and walked outside. Police say she carried out the gun and hid it in snow.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor and the clerk looked in the evidence box and discovered that the gun was missing. They alerted judicial services officers, who called police.

Police arrested Flenaugh as she tried to re-enter the courthouse.
SOURCE: https://apnews.com/4df80aa80bac456dba2b449a5c27a5d1
 
The drawn-out aftermath of what seems to have been a notably nasty divorce has motivated one of the parties to formally request a trial by combat ...
Man asks judge’s leave for sword battle with ex-wife, lawyer

A Kansas man has asked an Iowa judge to let him engage in a sword fight with his ex-wife and her attorney so that he can “rend their souls” from their bodies.

David Ostrom, 40, of Paola, Kansas, said in a Jan. 3 court filing that his former wife, Bridgette Ostrom, 38, of Harlan, Iowa, and her attorney, Matthew Hudson, had “destroyed (him) legally.” The Ostroms have been embroiled in disputes over custody and visitation issues and property tax payments.

The judge had the power to let the parties “resolve our disputes on the field of battle, legally,” David Ostrom said, adding in his filing that trial by combat “has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States.”

He also asked the judge for 12 weeks’ time so he could secure Japanese samurai swords. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/44eb0a6aa2b2e5b9ee28e3ec00f3f3fb
 
From today's Times -


gourds.jpg

This is written quite humorously and I did laugh very hard at it! but it's actually a serious human rights issue.

Here's a news report about it on YouTube -

Papuans on trial in Indonesia 'forced' to remove penis gourds

Two Papuan activists on trial for treason in Indonesia's capital Jakarta decried what they described as "racism" after a court on Monday ordered them to remove penis gourds that they defended as traditional dress. It is the second time their native garb has led to delays in a trial implicating a total of six activists.

If you google image search 'penis gourd' you get photos of the protesters and it's funny all over again!
 
No smoking in the courtroom! Especially if it's "wacky tobaccy" you're lighting up ...
Sheriff: Man stirs the pot by lighting joint in court

The rapper Afroman famously sang about how getting high on marijuana prevented him from going to court. A Tennessee man decided to combine the two when he lit a marijuana cigarette in the courtroom, authorities said.

Spencer Alan Boston, 20, was arrested Monday and charged with disorderly conduct and simple possession after sparking up in the courtroom ...

Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan said Boston was in court Monday on a simple drug possession charge. Boston approached the bench to discuss his sentence but instead expressed his views on legalizing marijuana.

Boston reached in his pocket, pulled out a marijuana cigarette, lit it, smoked it and was immediately taken into custody, Bryan said.

Sheriff’s Office Lt. Scott Moore said the courtroom crowd chuckled. ...

SOURCE: https://apnews.com/f66f28a359769cdbb6e6fea7dce4b83d
 
Litigious lady free to sue again.

A woman who was banned by a judge from taking any new cases against the State or judges unless she got permission from the court has won an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Donna Sfar today won her appeal against an order of a High Court judge almost three years ago restraining her from instituting any proceedings against State parties and judges without the prior permission of the president of the High Court. Up until then Ms Sfar, who lived in Co Louth, had issued 24 separate cases in the High Court since 1999. ...

In another appeal brought by Ms Sfar relating to the seizure of sheep and pigs for animal welfare reasons, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of Mr Justice Michael Twomey in the High Court rejecting her claims and refusing her an injunction against Department of Agriculture officials from entering her property.


In another appeal, the Court of Appeal said Mr Justice Twomey was right when he came to the conclusion that a fair balance had been struck between Ms Sfar’s rights and the public or general interest in the protection of the welfare of the animals.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/break...dings-against-the-state-or-judges-984771.html
 
Juror dismissed at start of Strasser-Hird trial after claiming visit from victim's ghost ...
“I can describe it as the ability to see, hear, feel, sense those that have died or whom are about to be born,” she said, before explaining what occurred to impact her impartiality.

Now that's original and interesting as a definition of a medium. Maybe she wasn't completely making it up so as to be excused jury service!
 
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The drawn-out aftermath of what seems to have been a notably nasty divorce has motivated one of the parties to formally request a trial by combat ...

Here's an update on this case ... It would appear Mr. Ostrom has willingly thrown himself from the frying pan into the fire ...

Psych evaluation ordered for man who sought trial by combat

An Iowa judge has ordered a psychological evaluation of a Kansas man who asked the judge to let him engage in a sword fight with his ex-wife and her attorney so that he can “rend their souls” from their bodies.

David Ostrom, 40, of Paola, Kansas, said in a Jan. 3 court filing that his former wife, Bridgette Ostrom, 38, of Harlan, Iowa, and her attorney, Matthew Hudson, had “destroyed (him) legally.” The Ostroms have been embroiled in disputes over custody and visitation issues and property tax payments.

The judge had the power to let the parties “resolve our disputes on the field of battle, legally,” David Ostrom said, adding in his filing that trial by combat “has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States.” ...

Bridgette Ostrom subsequently asked the judge to suspend David Ostrom’s visitation rights and order him to undergo an evaluation. Judge Craig Dreismeier granted both of her requests last week. ...

David Ostrom told The Des Moines Register that he has an appointment scheduled with a psychologist. Ostrom said he can ask the judge to reverse the decision about contact with the children if the psychologist determines he’s not a threat to himself or his children. If he has to undergo treatment, Ostrom said, he must wait until the program is complete to make the same request.
SOURCE: https://apnews.com/04ab8c60b4b64c72870ab4df12d70239
 
Psych evaluation ordered for man who sought trial by combat
Update on this story (which just keeps on giving, and giving pause) ...

Man who sought trial by combat now wants ex-wife evaluated

A Kansas man who sought legal permission in Iowa to engage in a sword fight with his ex-wife is not insane but merely angry over their child custody arrangement, according to a psychological evaluation.

David Ostrom, of Paola, Kansas, asked in a Jan. 3 court filing to be allowed to fight his former wife, Bridgette Ostrom, of Harlan, Iowa, and her attorney, Matthew Hudson, so that he can “rend their souls” from their bodies. The Ostroms have been embroiled in disputes over custody and visitation issues, and property tax payments.

An Iowa judge responded by temporarily suspending David Ostrom’s child visitation and ordering the evaluation. It found he is not troubled, but has “adjustment disorder with mixed emotional features,” Ostrom told the Des Moines Register.

“It essentially says I’m not crazy, I just don’t like being denied access to my children,” he said.

Ostrom has asked the court to order psychological evaluations of his ex-wife and her attorney, according to a motion he filed Friday. Ostrom, who is representing himself in court, also filed a second motion Friday asking for parenting time with his children and that he be reimbursed $4,765 in legal fees and $2,200 for the psychological evaluation. The motion also seeks $255,000 for emotional damages.

Neither Bridgette Ostrom nor her attorney responded to the Register’s requests for comment.

David Ostrom had previously told the Register that he filed his “trial by combat” motion to get media attention for his case.

SOURCE: https://apnews.com/40ede248fc6c4ed59d9d98812ac3c7d8
 
'Who killed you?'
The jurors who used a Ouija board to find a murderer guilty

By [URL='http://www.abc.net.au/news/abc-local/michael-dulaney/6837642']Michael Dulaney
and Damien Carrick for The Law Report
Posted Tue at 7:00am

In 1994, English insurance broker Stephen Young was found guilty of the gruesome double murder of Harry and Nicola Fuller. When the sentence came down, Sussex Police detective Graham Hill believed justice had been served.

The couple had been found dead on the floor of their home a year earlier, with Nicola shot three times and Harry shot in the back at close range.

The lead investigator on the case, Mr Hill said the verdict, which followed a five-week jury trial, marked the end of a difficult period.

"There was relief the case was finished," he said. "Obviously all people that are involved in the prosecution were pleased the verdict was one of guilty, because there's...as you can imagine, a huge amount of work goes into that."

One month after the trial had concluded, a front page headline of the now-defunct News of the World newspaper appeared out of nowhere, and hit like a shot:

'Murder Jury's Ouija Board Verdict': 'Booze, Dirty Jokes and then the Ouija Board'.

The report quoted the youngest member of the jury, 24-year-old Adrian, who said four jurors had tried to consult the spirits of the dead while locked overnight in Brighton's Old Ship Hotel.


Continued:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-08/ouija-board-juror-misbehaviour-murder-trials/9734868[/URL]

The Ouija incident is mentioned in this edition of Crimewatch File, where crimes and the police work that solved them are reconstructed:


At about 45:35 the senior detective Graham Hill is mowing his lawn when a neighbour calls him over to the fence and shows him a Sunday tabloid with the headline about the jury's attempt to contact the victims.

(The programme was narrated by Jill Dando who was herself murdered three years later.
Also interesting is that in the comments there is an account of the mishandled 999 call, allegedly by the sister of victim Nicola Fuller. )
 
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In these pandemic times courtroom antics have to include virtual courtroom weirdness as well ... I'm not sure which thing this plastic surgeon treated more casually - his practice or his day in traffic court.
Doctor appears in court video call while performing surgery

The Medical Board of California said it would investigate a plastic surgeon who appeared in a videoconference for his traffic violation trial while operating.

The Sacramento Bee reports Dr. Scott Green appeared Thursday for his Sacramento Superior Court trial, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, from an operating room. He was dressed in surgical scrubs with a patient undergoing the procedure just out of view; the beeps of medical machinery can be heard in the background. ...

“Hello, Mr. Green? Hi. Are you available for trial?” asked a courtroom clerk as an officer summoned to appear in trial raised her eyebrows. “It kind of looks like you’re in an operating room right now?”

“I am, sir,” Green replied. “Yes, I’m in an operating room right now. Yes, I’m available for trial. Go right ahead.” ...

The clerk reminded Green the proceedings were being livestreamed because traffic trials are required by law to be open to the public, and Green said he understood. He appeared to continue working with his head down while waiting for Court Commissioner Gary Link to enter the chamber.

When Link appeared and saw the doctor on the screen, the judge hesitated to proceed with the trial out of concern for the welfare of the patient.

“I have another surgeon right here who’s doing the surgery with me, so I can stand here and allow them to do the surgery also,” Green said.

The judge said he didn’t think it was appropriate to conduct trial under the circumstances. He told Green he’d rather set a new date for trial “when you’re not actively involved or participating and attending to the needs of a patient.”

Green apologized.

“Sometimes, surgery doesn’t always go as,” he said before the judge interrupted him.

“It happens. We want to keep people healthy, we want to keep them alive. That’s important,” Link said. ...

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/sacramen...rus-pandemic-324f0dd573e15fe7506846590b472db4
 
The beak wasn't amused.

A squawking parrot has interrupted the bizarre court proceedings of Eve Black, who boasted about breaching a Melbourne checkpoint in a viral video at the height of Victoria’s hard lockdown.

Ms Black, whose real name is Eugenia Limberiou, appeared via video link in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. She is accused of failing to produce her licence and stating a false name and address at a separate incident in Carlton in July last year.

The 28-year-old was represented in court by a "good friend" called Zev, who did not give his last name, and who claimed to be a paralegal with decades of experience.

"I’m currently not certified as a practitioner," Zev told the court, before a loud squawking interrupted him.
"Sorry that was my parrot," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03...police-covid-checkpoint-faces-court/100023066
 
Working in a courthouse is fun!

Bomb threats, a mystery insect bite, a defendant who headbutted a pane of glass, and a man who tried to bring his dog to court were among the accidents and incidents logged by the Courts Service last year.

Multiple breaches of Covid-19 restrictions involving members of the public and members of the legal profession were also reported. There were more than 100 events recorded in the Courts Service official estates management incident database for 2020, including a number of accidents involving judges.

One incident saw an altercation between court security staff at the public screening area at the entrance to the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin.

“The person tried to bring a dog into the building in their satchel,” said a log of the incident. “[The security staff] would not permit this.”

In another case in the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ), a member of the public said a door to a smoking area had slammed shut on their foot.
Multiple accidents involving staff were also reported including one case in Dublin where an employee was hit by the door of a steel cabinet that had snapped off its hinges. Another suffered a mystery bite while doing filing work in the Northwest. “Regional office arranged for filing area to be fumigated,” said the log.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-40257155.html
 
I can't help but suspect there's a very interesting back story for this incident. A prosecutor and defense attorney conspired to let a pair of convicted criminals slip out of town with the understanding they'd never come back.
Prosecutor, attorney reprimanded for ‘banishment’ scheme

A prosecutor and a defense attorney in Nebraska have been reprimanded for a scheme reminiscent of the Wild West in which they told two convicted criminals to get out of town and never return.

On Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court issued public reprimands for Custer County Attorney Steven Bowers and Broken Bow defense attorney Christopher Wickham for carrying out the “banishment plan.” The high court said Bowers and Wickham violated rules of professional conduct and their oaths as attorneys.

Under the plan brokered by Wickham and Bowers, the defense attorney advised his clients, who had been charged with felonies, to plead guilty then flee the state before sentencing, with the understanding that they would not return.

Bowers, the prosecutor, agreed that if the men skipped out on their sentencing hearings and left the state, he would direct the county sheriff to not seek extradition to have them returned to Custer County, the high court said. Wickham and Bowers also schemed to seek a low bail for the men, so they could be freed before the sentencing hearings. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-arts-and-entertainment-5c954120d32660f68158624e40ff3e8e
 
Two executives of French gaming producers Quantic Dreams exhibited strange behaviors in their latest court appearance. As if that weren't enough weirdness, the company submitted documentation that may end up proving rather than disproving allegations of fraud against them.
Report: Quantic Dream Executives Cry, Ask If They Can Lie During Recent Court Appearance

Quantic Dream executives recently appeared in a Paris court as part of its ongoing defamation lawsuit against French publications Le Monde and Mediapart. But according to a May 31 report, things didn’t go smoothly for the studio ...

Independent French union Solidaires Informatique reports that co-CEOs David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière both exhibited strange behavior during their testimonies.

Cage allegedly cried on the stand, stomping his feet, screaming about interferences to his business and damage to his honor, and eventually storming out of the court room altogether.

Near the end of his own testimony, de Fondaumière reportedly looked at the judges and asked, “But I’m not under oath, so can I lie?” before claiming Quantic Dream was seriously damaged by the stories about its toxic work environment. Solidaires Informatique says de Fondaumière didn’t provide proof of these damages. ...

These legal escapades stretch back to January 2018, when several reports were published in the French press concerning working conditions at Quantic Dreams. The stories alleged that Quantic Dream’s work culture was rife with toxic behavior, the most prevalent being a massive internal trove of photoshopped images depicting employees in sexual situations and altered to look like Nazis. ...

Kotaku learned in April 2018 that Quantic Dream was suing newspaper Le Monde and website Mediapart, two of the French publications responsible for the reporting. ...

In addition to the actions of its executives during last week’s court appearance, Quantic Dream reportedly provided the court with documents that were supposed to defend them against accusations of social security fraud by showing the company acting in good faith in the termination of a former employee. However, upon closer inspection, these documents apparently revealed irregularities in the process that the defense believed highlighted a possible incident of unlawful dismissal. If true, this would be an own goal of monumental proportions. ...
FULL STORY: https://kotaku.com/report-quantic-dream-executives-cry-ask-if-they-can-l-1847036252
 
I suppose there's a chance this murder suspect's self-representation is intended to set him up for an insanity defense. In any case, his defense performance seems to be quite insane.
A murder suspect accused of stabbing and setting fire to his son cross-examined the 11-year-old in court

A murder suspect accused of shooting his girlfriend, axing his 9-year-old daughter in the head, then stabbing and lighting his son on fire cross-examined the 11-year-old survivor Wednesday in a jaw-dropping courtroom scene.

In the televised cross-examination, Ronnie Oneal III, who has been representing himself at trial, at one point asked his son, "Did I hurt you the night of this incident?"

The boy, who attended the hearing virtually from a child victim resource center, responded, "Yes. You stabbed me."

Oneal is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in connection to the 2018 incident just south of Tampa, Florida. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, told jurors his son witnessed nothing, and accused police of coaxing the boy into accusing him. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.insider.com/double-murder-suspect-cross-examines-son-who-survived-attack-2021-6
 
A (graphic) novel way to lodge a lawsuit.

Houston's longstanding Third Planet comic book store has filed a lawsuit against the hotel next door complaining that guests there hang out on the fire escape and hurl all kinds of crap ("ceramic mugs, plates, silverware, bottles…cinderblocks, luggage racks and ladders") onto Third Planet's roof. Brilliantly, the bulk of Third Planet's legal complaint is a comic itself.

From Cory Doctorow's Plural-list:

[The hotel guests's destructive behavior] led to Third Planet replacing their roof, then paying for a series of repairs to the new roof. The hotel management ignored their pleas. In Mar 2019, hotel residents launched a volley of 14+ fire extinguishers at the store, which exploded on impact.
The store's structure – and its merchandise, including one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable items – have suffered damage. The roof is a goner. The hotel guests and residents continue to pelt it with garbage. Enough is enough.
Third Planet's lawsuit against the Crowne Plaza is a marvel of clear legal writing, but that's not all – it's *also a comic book illustrating the store's complaint*, starting on P6.
Here are a few sample panels:

screenshot-30-X.jpg

https://boingboing.net/2021/07/07/comic-book-store-files-legal-complaint-in-comic-book-form.html
 
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This genius insisted on serving as his own attorney, even after the judge's warnings that it wasn't a good idea. He then took the stand to testify on his own behalf, only to confess under oath to two additional felonies more serious than the ones he was already being tried for.
Capitol rioter admits to two new felonies while representing himself in bond hearing

Brandon Fellows sought to have his bond status revoked, only to make the legal case against him stronger.

Before his bond hearing began Tuesday, a federal judge warned Brandon Fellows he could be opening himself up to perjury – or even obstruction of justice – charges if he testified on his own behalf, ...

“Most people do not do this,” U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden told Fellows. “Obviously your attorney has discouraged this. I do not think this is a good idea…" ...

Fellows is an Albany, New York, resident under indictment on a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. In charging documents, prosecutors say Fellows entered the Capitol through a broken window and wound up smoking marijuana in Sen. Jeff Merkley’s ... office.

Last month, Fellows asked McFadden to allow him to represent himself pro se in his case – saying he had spent the previous two weeks in the D.C. Jail’s law library and determined that was what he wanted. Despite warning him, repeatedly, of the possible consequences of going it alone with no formal law training, McFadden ultimately granted Fellows’ request. ...

Over the course of the nearly 2-hour hearing, Fellows rambled across a difficult-to-follow litany of complaints about his incarceration, stopping to touch on subjects as widely varied as the Taliban, Guantanamo Bay, a woman who’d left her child in a dumpster and a “constitutional lawyer” who had allegedly advised him to wrap his cell phone in tin foil to avoid capture.

In her much shorter cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst got Fellows to admit – under oath – that he had climbed into the Capitol through a broken window without police permission, that he had used the previous judge’s wife’s contact information to try to get him removed from the case and that he had missed court-ordered mental health and drug testing appointments. ...

“You’ve admitted to incredible lapses of judgment here on the stand, not least of which was seeking to disqualify a New York state judge,” the judge continued. “You’ve admitted to obstruction of justice in that case, and you’ve admitted to what was probably obstruction in this case in trying to have me disqualified ... You’ve engaged in a pattern of behaviors that shows contempt for the criminal justice system, and I just have no confidence that you will follow my orders if I release you.” ...

McFadden then denied Fellows’ request to reopen his detention status and ordered him back into the custody of the D.C. Jail.
FULL STORY: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/...adden/65-a40af9c2-9809-4adb-aaec-7e36ad12b308
 
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This genius insisted on serving as his own attorney, even after the judge's warnings that it wasn't a good idea. He then took the stand to testify on his own behalf, only to confess under oath to two additional felonies more serious than the ones he was already being tried for.

FULL STORY: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/...adden/65-a40af9c2-9809-4adb-aaec-7e36ad12b308
Yep, the old quote is true: "he who will be his own Counsellour, shall be sure to have a Fool for his Client."

And that is an old quote, dating back to William De Britaine in 1692, and later attributed to many others, including Abraham Lincoln. Thanks to the Quote Investigator website for that.

Idiot boy should have read that in the prison library!
 
This genius insisted on serving as his own attorney, even after the judge's warnings that it wasn't a good idea. He then took the stand to testify on his own behalf, only to confess under oath to two additional felonies more serious than the ones he was already being tried for.

FULL STORY: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/...adden/65-a40af9c2-9809-4adb-aaec-7e36ad12b308
The despicable serial killer Ted Bundy tried defending himself in court. That went well.
 
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