Legal Humour News - February 8, 2010

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

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1 - See You In Court!

Malaysian court orders lovers to pay fine of 4 buffaloes, 1 pig for illicit affair
A Malaysian court has ordered two lovers to pay a fine of four buffaloes and a pig after they were found guilty of having an illicit affair. The man's wife filed a complaint last year after finding her husband in shorts and her colleague in a sarong at the man's second home. The court rejected their claim that they were just "best friends."
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100130/koddities/as_odd_malaysia_beasty_fine_1

Legal duel over heart attack burger joints 
The owner of the "Heart Attack Grill" in Arizona is suing "Heart Stoppers Grill" in Florida, accusing the outlet of plagiarizing his death by burger brainchild. Jon Basso, the owner of the original Arizona joint, is fiercely defending the intellectual property rights of his medically-themed restaurant, which boasts death-defying meal options such as the quadruple bypass burger.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100205/oddities/lifestyle_us_crime_gastronomy_health_offbeat

In-laws can demand gifts back after divorce: German court 
In-laws in Germany will be able to reclaim gifts made to their children's spouses if the couple's marriage ends in divorce, following a landmark ruling by a top court. The Federal Court of Justice ruled that a man given around 29,000 euros (40,000 dollars) by his parents-in-law to bid for a house at auction should pay the cash back, after he and their daughter divorced and he got the house.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100204/oddities/germany_court_law_divorce

Drill bit allegedly left in woman's head after surgery
A lawsuit claims a dentist's drill bit was left in a Tampa woman's head for nearly a year. The lawsuit says Donna Delgao's surgeon left an inch-long piece of steel in a wound after dental surgery in 2008. The tool lodged in her right maxillary sinus. It was only removed 11 months later by another surgeon.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/01/28/12646801-ap.html

Inmate loses fight to play Dungeons&Dragons
A Wisconsin man serving life in prison for first-degree intentional homicide lost his legal battle to play Dungeons&Dragons behind bars. Kevin T. Singer filed a federal lawsuit against officials at Wisconsin’s Waupun prison, arguing that a policy banning all Dungeons&Dragons material violated his free speech and due process rights. Prison officials instigated the Dungeons&Dragons ban among concerns that playing the game promoted gang-related activity and was a threat to security.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/01/25/12608986-ap.html

UK court orders secret castle demolished
A man's home is his castle — but not if British authorities say it has to be destroyed. That's the situation faced by Robert Fidler, a farmer who lost a UK High Court bid to protect the once-secret castle he built 40 miles (65 kilometres) south of London and kept hidden from planning authorities. The adverse decision means Fidler's roof must come down.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/03/12720601-ap.html

2 - Crime and Punishment

Shoplifting suspect flees into police station
Police say a man suspected of stealing a bottle of Schnapps from a Wyoming grocery store didn’t have the best escape route planned. The 26-year-old ran out of the store after grabbing the bottle of liquor and a package of cough drops and hid in a nearby building, which happened to be the police station.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/06/12771461-ap.html

Student arrested for doodling on school desk
A New York City junior high student has been arrested for doodling on her desk with a marker. Twelve-year-old Alexa Gonzalez scribbled “Lex was here 2/1/10“ on her desk Monday at Junior High School 190 in Queens. She also wrote “I love my friends Abby and Faith.” The girl says the doodles could have been erased. Education department spokesman David Cantor said the incident shouldn’t have happened, and that common sense should prevail.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/05/12755611-ap.html

Woman charged for putting on make-up while driving
Police have charged a 30-year-old southwestern Ontario woman with careless driving after an officer watched her putting on facial make-up while driving near London, Ont.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/04/12739231-qmi.html

Cops: driver used dummy in car pool lane
A New Yorker faces a $135 traffic fine for using a mannequin as her plus-one in the high-occupancy lane. An alert sheriff's deputy on Long Island became suspicious when he saw the "passenger" wearing sunglasses and using the visor. The only problem: The sky was overcast.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/02/04/12736881-ap.html

Trucker blames Wendy's chili for crash
Police say a lumber truck crashed into a Massachusetts home after the driver was knocked unconscious when he choked on chili from Wendy’s. Police say he could be cited for eating while driving.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/01/30/12677436-ap.html

3 - Politics, Law, and Governance

No jail for sexy texts, China tells couples
Chinese authorities are trying to reassure amorous couples that sexy text messages will not land them in jail amid a crackdown against pornography on the Internet and mobile phones.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100206/oddities/china_internet_pornography_offbeat

N.Ireland leader jokes about 'Olympic' marathon talks 
Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson joked that if negotiating were an Olympic sport, the province's politicians would win the gold medal. In a moment of light relief after marathon talks finally secured a deal to avert a full-blown crisis, Robinson quipped that maybe it should be introduced in the London 2012 Olympics.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100205/oddities/britain_nireland_politics_offbeat

Latvia auctions off Soviet military ghost town 
A former Red Army garrison town deserted since Moscow's troops left the ex-Soviet republic of Latvia a decade ago was auctioned off to a Russian firm for 10 times its list price, authorities said. The lot included 45 hectares (111 acres) of land, 10 apartment blocs, two nightclubs, a shopping centre, kindergarten, barracks and a sauna complex.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100205/oddities/latvia_military_property_history_soviet_auction

4 - And Now for Something Completely Different

PETA wants 'Robohog Day'
The animal rights group PETA is taking aim at America's annual Groundhog Day ritual, urging that the weather-forecasting rodent at the heart of the celebration be replaced by a robot.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100128/oddities/us_weather_animal_groundhog_offbeat_1