Legal Humour News - June 29, 2009

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

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1 - See You In Court!

Mistaken pie-throwing case lands in top court
All he wanted was an apology. Instead, activist Vancouver lawyer Cameron Ward has had a seven-year legal fight that is now going to the Supreme Court of Canada. He was arrested in August 2002, when Vancouver Police officers believed he was going to throw a pie at then prime minister Jean Chretien.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/06/18/9843486-cp.html

Woman says Easter decor led to eviction
A Colorado woman is going to court claiming she was wrongly evicted from her apartment because she kept her Easter decorations on her door for two weeks after the holiday. He spent several hours in jail and, despite his objections, was strip searched. "I was completely pie free," he quipped in an interview. "I had not attended anywhere near a bakery for weeks."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/06/22/9885536-ap.html

Belgian teen to sue over 56-star facial tattoo
A Belgian teenager is suing a tattoo artist whom she says covered half her face with stars while she was asleep.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090617/oddities/belgium_justice_tattoo_offbeat_2

Judge: Blaring horn is not free speech
Being honked off doesn't give you a right to honk on. That's the ruling from a Superior Court judge in Washington state in the case of a woman who expressed her anger at a neighbour by leaning on her car horn at 6 a.m.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/06/09/9742081-ap.html

2 - Crime and Punishment

Mom pleads guilty in drunken breastfeeding case
A North Dakota woman accused of breast-feeding her six-week-old baby while drunk has pleaded guilty to child neglect.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/06/24/9910256-ap.html

Lawmaker wants to stop the dead from voting
A Philippine lawmaker frustrated by rampant electoral fraud has proposed legislation to get the names of the dead off voter rolls. In past elections, family members have reported finding the names of dead relatives on the lists. In some cases, someone has voted using their names.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/06/15/9797596-ap.html

Police search for naked french fry thief
Police in British Columbia were on the search for a brazen thief who snatched a take-away meal while making a naked run past a fast food restaurant's drive-though window. An employee of a Langley, British Columbia, Wendy's restaurant was handing food to a customer waiting in her car when a naked man ran between them, taking off with her fries, and leaving little evidence behind, according to police.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE55M67Q20090623

3 - Politics, Law, and Governance

Sri Lanka arrests astrologer for gloomy predictions
Sri Lankan police say they have arrested an astrologer after he predicted serious political and economic problems for the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090626/oddities/srilanka_astrology_arrest_offbeat

Former mayor arrested for nudity
Naked time got a little too public for a former Georgia mayor. Authorities arrested Mark Musselwhite and charged him with public indecency after state Department of Natural Resources officers found him sitting nude at his Rabun County campsite.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/06/28/9962386-ap.html

Ohioans get tickets for parking in own driveways
Residents of Toledo, Ohio, are complaining that they received $25 tickets for parking their vehicles in their own driveways. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner says he stands by the citations handed out by the Division of Streets, Bridges and Harbor. He says the tickets were issued under a city law against parking on unpaved surfaces, including gravel driveways.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/06/16/9814766-ap.html

Toddler ban prompts Australia parliament re-think
An Australian senator whose crying toddler was ejected from parliament during a political vote has prompted a review of chamber rules and sparked a heated debate over child-friendly work practices.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE55I4HZ20090619

Florida city tells workers to wear underwear, use deodorant
A Florida city is cleaning up with a new dress code that requires city workers to wear underwear and use deodorant. The city council in Brooksville north of Tampa recently approved a dress code that instructs employees to observe "strict personal hygiene." It also prohibits exposed underwear, clothing with foul language, "sexually provocative" clothes and piercings anywhere except the ears.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090618/koddities/us_odd_underwear_required_1

4 - And Now for Something Completely Different

So the honeymoon is over?
A Polish couple living in Germany fell out after tying the knot and decided to end their marriage on the same day. He reportedly said he never wanted to see her again and wanted an immediate annulment, and she said the same thing.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE55O4ZY20090626