Legal Humour News - August 24, 2009

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

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1 - See You In Court!

Woman sues zoo over splashing dolphins
A woman is suing a Chicago-area zoo for a 2008 fall near a dolphin exhibit, accusing zookeepers of encouraging the mammals to splash water and then failing to protect spectators from wet surfaces. The plaintiff is demanding more than $50,000 for lost wages, medical expenses and emotional trauma from the Chicago Zoological Society and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE57K3G520090821

Judge deflates tire over parking spot
A circuit court judge in Maryland has acknowledged he deflated a tire on a car parked in a restricted area near his courthouse earlier. But he isn’t apologizing. Charles County Judge Robert C. Nalley said that he let out the air because leaving notes for those parked illegally isn’t effective.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/08/14/10463706-ap.html

Man jailed for 'boisterous' yawn is freed
An Illinois judge has freed a man who had been in jail for three weeks after letting loose a loud yawn during a sentencing hearing. Thirty-three-year-old Clifton Williams was found in contempt of court and jailed on July 23 after yawning in Will County Judge Daniel Rozak's court. He could have been jailed for six months. As Williams stood before the bench in shackles, the judge gave him a short lecture. He told Williams he wasn't in custody for simply yawning but for making a sound "that was offensive to the court."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/08/13/10455441-ap.html

Court says Nazi slogan is legal in English
Nazis slogans banned in Germany may be legal if they are translated from German into English, one of the country's highest courts has ruled. The Federal Court of Justice said it had rescinded a conviction against a man fined 4,200 euros ($5,993) for possessing 100 T-shirts due for sale emblazoned with the words "Blood & Honor" -- a translation of the Hitler Youth slogan "Blut und Ehre."
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE57D3RT20090817

Connecticut high court steps into lottery dispute between 2 octogenarian sisters
A passion for gambling shared by two once-inseparable octogenarian sisters has ended up dividing them, with the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that one can sue the other for a share of a winning $500,000 lottery ticket. The court said 83-year-old Theresa Sokaitis can try to enforce a written contract she signed with her 87-year-old sister, Rose Bakaysa, agreeing to split any gambling winnings.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090811/koddities/us_elderly_sisters_lottery_fight_1

2 - Crime and Punishment

Man convicted of groping Minnie Mouse
A 60-year-old man has been convicted of groping a woman in a Minnie Mouse costume at Walt Disney World. John William Moyer told the judge he is innocent. His son said before sentencing that his father would never inappropriately touch a woman.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/08/11/10428091-ap.html

Passenger allegedly strips, fights with crew
Authorities say a St. Louis-bound Southwest Airlines flight was forced to return to Oakland International Airport after a male passenger stripped, hit another passenger and fought with crew members. Alameda County sheriff’s deputies say Flight 947 returned after 21-year-old Darius of Oakland allegedly exposed himself to the female passenger sitting next to him and punched her in the face.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/08/20/10537546-ap.html

Back of hold-up note listed suspect's ID
The detailed information on the back of the demand note in a Utah bank robbery made it pretty easy for authorities to arrest a suspect.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/08/17/10491986-ap.html

Speeding player thought police were fans chasing him
Sunderland midfielder Grant Leadbitter, explaining to a court why he was caught speeding, said he thought the police patrol car following him was in fact a car full of Newcastle United fans chasing him for a fight.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE57B4OT20090812

3 - Politics, Law, and Governance

English city bans bothersome buskers with 2-song repertoire
A city in central England says two buskers, or street performers, who plagued a suburb by repeating the same two songs have been banned from performing for two years. Birmingham City Council said Friday that the men angered residents with late-night and out of tune renditions of two tracks - "Wonderwall" by Oasis and "Faith" by George Michael.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090821/koddities/eu_odd_britain_bad_buskers

PMO Iqaluit bumble draws smiles, frowns
A bumble by Canada’s Prime Minister's Office has residents of Nunavut alternately chuckling and cringing. A news release outlined Prime Minister Stephen Harper's itinerary as he began a five-day Arctic tour. The release repeatedly spelled the capital of Nunavut as Iqualuit - rather than Iqaluit, which means "many fish" in the Inuktitut language. The extra "u" makes a big difference. According to the office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut, "It means people with unwiped bums."
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090818/koddities/harper_iqaluit_gaffe

Russian government looks to buy golden bed
Russia's government has issued a tender for luxury furniture, including a gilded bed, triggering an outcry in a country where the economy shrank 10.9 percent in the last quarter. The interior ministry said it wanted a cherry wood bed and that the "the decorative elements of the head and footboards must be covered with a thin layer of 24 carat gold."
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090819/odds/odd_us_russia_bed

Merkel's cleavage heats up German vote campaign
With weeks to go until German elections, billboards of Chancellor Angela Merkel sporting a very revealing low-cut dress have pepped up a campaign that has so far struggled to grab public attention. The 57-year-old candidate has hung 750 posters in her district and local media have reported a few stolen as souvenirs.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090811/oddities/germany_politics_vote_offbeat_3

China mobile users face jail for sexy texts
Mobile phone users in central China could face jail for sending unwanted erotic text messages while in the north, one local Communist Party branch has held 480 meetings on the problem in the past month.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090811/oddities/china_telecom_texting_sex_offbeat_1

Woman in trouser case banned from travel
Sudan has barred Lubna Hussein, a woman who faces 40 lashes for wearing trousers in violation of decency laws, from travelling abroad.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE57A5CR20090812

4 - And Now for Something Completely Different

Hitting the wrong Sydney..
A Dutchman and his grandson boarded a flight to Sydney, looking forward to visiting sunny Australia, but ended up in a much chillier Sydney -- in Nova Scotia. They set out from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport with Air Canada but instead of arriving to views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House, they touched down at Sydney in Cape Breton Island, off Canada's north east coast -- more than 17,000 kms (10,000 miles) away from their intended destination.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE57D4F620090814