Legal Humour News - March 8, 2010

Odd or Amusing Legal Headlines from the Past Week (or Two):

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1 - See You In Court!

Family, foundation battle over woman’s head
A Colorado family and an Arizona nonprofit are fighting in court over who gets the head of a woman who died last month, along with a $50,000 annuity she left behind. At issue is whether 71-year-old Mary Robbins’ head and brain will be preserved by cryonics — extremely cold temperatures — in the expectation that future technology may be able to bring her back to life and restore her health.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/20/12963576-ap.html

US man sent to prison for 15 years gets new trial after jury didn't take oath to be honest
A Michigan man sent to prison for 15 years is getting a new trial after the judge failed to do a routine procedure - ask the jury to take an oath. Timothy Becktel was sentenced in 2008 for assault with intent to murder. But his appellate lawyer successfully argued that the verdict should be thrown out because the jury didn't swear to return an honest decision based on law and evidence.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100305/koddities/us_odd_jury_s_oath

"Hurt Locker" producers sued days before Oscars
A U.S. Army sergeant sued the makers of Oscar-nominated film "The Hurt Locker" five days before the Academy Awards, claiming the central character in the film is based on him. Master Sergeant Jeffrey S. Sarver believes screenwriter Mark Boal based "virtually all of the situations" in the film on events involving him and claims he coined the phrase "the hurt locker”.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6223RP20100303

Man must pay for injury caused in suicide bid
A court has ruled that a Russian man must pay more than 100,000 rubles ($3,330) for medical bills and damages to the parents of a girl he hit when he jumped from a window in a suicide attempt.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61P3TE20100226

2 - Crime and Punishment

Woman called 911 for more smokes
A Northern Ontario woman was charged with mischief after police say she wouldn't stop calling 911 to ask them to pick her up some smokes.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/03/05/13122976-qmi.html

Newlywed couple spends first night in jail
A newlywed couple spent their wedding night in separate jail cells after police said the bride tried to run over an old flame of the groom. Police told the Cape Cod Times that 22-year-old Marissa Ann Putignano-Keene tried to run over the other woman and the woman’s son in a parking lot. The intended victim later told police that she had previously been in an intimate relationship with the groom.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/03/02/13087916-ap.html

Lazy man uses car to walk dog
An English dog-owner has been fined after taking his pet for a stroll while driving next to him in his car. Prosecutors said Paul Railton was spotted driving at low speed along a country lane in December, holding his dog’s leash through the car window as the animal trotted alongside.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/03/02/13082911-ap.html

Child's play at air traffic tower sparks inquiry
An investigation is underway into why a young child, apparently under an adult's supervision, was allowed to direct air traffic at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. In transmissions broadcast by local media, the young child -- whose age is unknown -- can be heard directing pilots for departure, apparently under the supervision of an adult. The incident reportedly happened in February. At one point an adult voice can be heard telling a pilot: "This is what you get guys when the kids are out of school."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6223S920100303

3 - Politics, Law, and Governance

Singapore sticks to ban on chewing gum
Singapore has stuck to its 18-year ban on the import and sale of chewing gum, which has become an international symbol of the city-state's image as a strict society.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100304/oddities/singapore_society_gum

$5 fee required to overthrow government
In South Carolina, any group that plans to overthrow the federal government - or any other government in the U.S. - must register its activities. It's the law. The 1951 statute was meant to deter communists.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/03/01/13070621-ap.html

Puppet cleavage not welcome in U.S. city
Puppet cleavage has been ruled out for advertising posters in Colorado Springs bus shelters. Lamar Advertising rejected posters for a touring production of the Broadway show "Avenue Q" because they show the cleavage of a fuzzy pink puppet.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/23/12995416-ap.html

US police order nude snow sculpture covered 
Police in New Jersey ordered a snow sculpture modeled on the famous nude Venus de Milo to be covered up after a neighbour complained.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100304/oddities/us_offbeat_sex_sculpture

French group urges road crossings for toads, frogs
An animal protection group is urging French authorities to build special crossings to save millions of frogs and toads from being squashed on the country's roads.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100225/oddities/france_environment_animals_frogs_offbeat_2

Swiss may grant lawyers for animals
Lawyer Antoine F. Goetschel feels uncomfortable talking about one of his recent clients. And it isn't just because he lost the case. "Fish don't get much sympathy," he explains. That's doubly true for the unnamed dead pike whose cause Goetschel took up earlier this month, much to the amusement of Swiss anglers who couldn't understand why one of their own was being hauled into court for landing a big catch. Goetschel is Europe's only animal lawyer and the figurehead for a movement that wants to expand Zurich's pioneering legal system across Switzerland.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/18/12929451-ap.html

4 - And Now for Something Completely Different

Man gets married to a pillow
A Korean man has married his dakimaura, a.k.a. a body pillow with a Japanese anime girl drawn on it. A Korean man has married his dakimaura, a.k.a. a body pillow with a Japanese anime girl drawn on it. Footage shows the man bringing his body pillow to a theme park, where they ride roller coasters and a carousel. Anime body pillows have become an underground trend, especially in Japan, where men and young boys form relationships with them.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/03/05/13128056-qmi.html

Man bulldozes home to avoid foreclosure
An Ohio man says he bulldozed his $350,000 home to keep a bank from foreclosing on it.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/22/12987191-ap.html