In addition to a few previously noted wacky British laws, as reported in The Daily Mirror, here are a few more that are still on the books:
A law enacted by George I states that: “The severest penaltys will be suffered by any commoner who doth permit his animal to have carnal knowledge of a pet of the Royal house.”
In York, it is still legal to murder a Scotsman within the city’s ancient walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow.
Perhaps that’s the reason Tennessee House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower did what he did. As reported in the Nashville Scene:
Tennessee is the only state in nation with a law preventing sex-change recipients from retroactively revising the sex designation on their birth certificates to correspond with their new gender identity. The law makes it difficult for those who have undergone such surgical changes to get driver’s licenses and other documentation, because obtaining such critical documents invariably requires a birth certificate.
So a bunch of Democrats put together a bill to bring Tennessee in line with EVERY OTHER STATE. Mr. Mumpower would have none of this. How did he kill the bill?
Yes, Christian Haughwout, a 14-year-old student at The Morgan School in Clinton, Connecticut, was suspended for 10 days for … bringing a camera to school that emits a mild shock! The official reason for the suspension?
“Possession of a dangerous instrument and causing a threat or danger to the physical well-being of himself or other people.”
Really? Yes, and on top of that, as reported by The Hartford Courant:
This is not your garden variety “babe-calling” case. Ms. Aude sued Mr. Mullaney for negligently giving her herpes. (The jury found that he did, but that she was “contributorily negligent.”) Mr. Mullaney was represented by Allen Harris (and Benjamin Lipsitz). Ms. Aude was represented by Susan Green and Gary Bernstein.
At Ms. Aude’s deposition, “as [she] was leaving the room to retrieve [a] document, Mr. Harris remarked that she was going to meet ‘[a]nother boyfriend’ at the car. Ms. Green and Mr. Bernstein quickly told Mr. Harris that his comment was in poor taste and asked him to refrain from making further derogatory comments. The following ensued:”
MR. MULLANEY: It’s going to be a fun trial. [Oh, and he’s a lawyer, too. Very professional, no?]
MR. HARRIS: It must have been in poor taste if Miss Green says it was in poor tasted. It must have really been in poor taste.
MS. GREEN: You got a problem with me?
MR. HARRIS: No, I don’t have a problem with you, babe. [uh oh]
MS. GREEN: Babe? You called me babe? What generation are you from?
MR. HARRIS: At least I didn’t call you a bimbo. [have shovel, will dig]
MR.LIPSITZ: Cut it out.
MS. GREEN: The committee will enjoy hearing about that.
MR. BERNSTEIN: Alan, you ought to stay out of the gutter.
“According to Ms. Green’s legal assistant, Harris’s reference to Ms. Green as ‘babe’ continued throughout the litigation. In an affidavit … she stated that ‘in the course of her employment, [Mr. Harris] did telephone Ms. Green’s office and ask, ‘Is the babe in?’ He also referred to [the legal assistant] as ‘babe.”
Ms. Green then filed a motion asking the Court to put an end to this conduct (and some other defense conduct), and requested attorneys’ fees. So what do you think happened?
Actually, “hot” and “warm” revenge didn’t work out too well either for David Alan Hawkins, who had the misfortune of trying to develop a condominium project when the Savings and Loan crisis hit in the 1980s. He lost his financing, and the project, with the collapse of Queen City Savings and Loan. And, as reported by the Seattle Times:
To add insult to injury, Hawkins won a $3.5 million jury verdict against the S&L, only to have it stripped from him by a judge over a technicality — a move that outraged the jurors who had awarded him the money, according to court documents and news accounts from the time.
How would Hawkins get even?
For years, Hawkins sought justice, using increasingly confrontational and bizarre tactics that included placing invalid liens on the homes of those he blamed — including bankers, judges and lawyers — and filing so many lawsuits that he was banned from filing documents in King County in 1994.
You know it’s bad when you are banned from filing documents with the court, a fate usually reserved for pro se prisoner plaintiffs. Fast forward to the present. Hawkins ratcheted the revenge WAY up, with the help of attorney Harry Skeins Jr. They were “selling” the homes of people involved in Hawkins’ misfortune 25 years ago (e.g. Judges, lawyers, a bank executive). Just one problem – they had no interest in the homes! How did they do it?
Hawkins and Skeins set up a fake title-insurance company and convinced lenders that they held legitimate liens on the homes of their victims. An Atlanta lender gave them more than $1.5 million for the sale of homes belonging to a state appeals court judge and a bank executive …
How did they get busted?
… the men were arrested in 2006 after a judge’s wife questioned a real-estate appraiser who showed up at her home one day, according to court documents.
The time? Four years in prison, and about $1.6 million in restitution. Here’s the source.
Okay, maybe that sounds just a little insane. But consider this – he was driving! As reported in the Reading Eagle,
Messerly was driving his employer’s minivan on the bypass in West Reading about 3 p.m. April 4 when he climbed out of the driver-side window, stood on the roof and was catapulted into the woods when the van crashed into a guide rail, borough police said.
And that was just the beginning. Mr. Messerly (age 38, of Reading, Pennsylvania) was then seen running – totally naked – along the road. Someone called the cops, and here’s what happened:
When they arrived, the officers were confronted by a nude Messerly, who came toward them and ignored orders to stop. Two of the officers used Taser stun guns on Messerly to try to stop him.
Messerly fell to the ground, but got up as the officers approached him. A third officer hit Messerly in the back with a Taser, which briefly stunned him.
Messerly still refused to heed the officers’ orders and started toward them again.
One of the officers sprayed Messerly in the face with pepper spray, another hit him in the back with a baton and another reactivated one of the Tasers.
Messerly still refused to cooperate.
After a second shot of pepper spray to his face, another hit to his back with a baton and a fifth jolt from a Taser, Messerly was taken to the ground and handcuffed.
Unbelievable! The explanation?
… Messerly … told police he had used crack cocaine the night before the April 4 accident and had not slept since then, according to [Court] documents.
The charges?
… driving under the influence, risking a catastrophe, indecent exposure, resisting arrest, public drunkenness and related offenses.
Here’s the source.
So no matter what happens, the lesbians win! Actually, that’s not true. The Lesbians might win. What the hell am I talking about? Three Greek women who live on the island of Lesbos filed suit against the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, per the AP, claiming that its name “insults the identity” of the people of Lesbos.
Please! Even assuming the Lesbians defeat the lesbians, what about the other, um, BILLIONS OF PEOPLE who will still use the word “lesbian” as a synonym for a gay woman? What’s next, Lesbos v. Rest of World? Ladies, you can’t unring the bell. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. (Help. Any more trite phrases to express this?)
They did. They summoned him to court (on charges of creating a law and order problem!), and 3-year-old Mukesh Prasad came with his daddy. The Magistrate was pissed. The summons was immediately dismissed. How did this happen? Seems a couple of police officers in Sultanpur, India were looking for Mukesh’s 19-year-old brother, Sunil. As reported in The Indian Express:
Since he [Sunil] was missing, the police moved an application in the court to book his brother. The application was moved on April 22, and Mukesh was asked to appear on May 9.
Um. Er. Sorry. What became of the summons-happy officers? They were suspended. You can read more (just a tiny bit) here.
You would not believe the frequency with which doctors sexually abuse their patients. In doing research for these posts, I come across cases similar to this at least several times each week.
According to a woman examined by Arkansas Dr. Clarence Jay Arendall, here’s what happened, as reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:
[The woman] said in the lawsuit filed March 12 that she visited Arendall for an ear infection in the past five years but that during the examination, he lowered her pants, touched her genitals, fondled her breasts and made sexual comments to her.
Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Willie F. Singletary knows a thing or two, OR 55, about traffic tickets. That’s because, a year ago, his driver’s licenses was suspended through 2011 due to 55 traffic violations totalling $11,427, as reported by the Philadelphia Daily News. And he was elected Traffic Court Judge after he got busted!
Now, though, having been in office only since January 7, 2007, he’s looking at a different kind of trouble.
The state Judicial Conduct Board issued a complaint yesterday charging Willie F. Singletary, 28, with five counts of misconduct for soliciting campaign donations from the Philadelphia First State Road Rattlers Motorcycle Club on April 22, 2007.
Here’s what allegedly went down. How do people think this kind of thing won’t come out?
Then, Singletary asked each biker to give him $20 for his campaign, in violation of state judicial conduct rules, according to the 11-page complaint.
“There’s going to be a basket going around because I’m running for Traffic Court Judge, right, and I need some money,” he said, according to the complaint.
“Now, you all want me to get there, you’re all going to need my hook-up, right,” he continued. “It costs money,” he added. “I have to raise $15,000 by Friday. I just hope you have it.”
I’ll give the Judge this: He eliminated the need to read between the lines. And it’s on YouTube, right here!
Shazam! Here’s the article.
