This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we look at three crazy cases from around the globe. First, we look at a judge who awarded a man $25,000 all to compensate for his lost pornography. Then, we look at an, um, unusual defence to a drug trafficking allegation. Finally, we get one step closer to trial by combat in Ireland.
Check out the greatest weirdest legal stories from around the globe after the jump.
Parents Pay for Son’s Porn
Ah, lawsuits, one of the greatest things that the world has ever given for hilarious and stupid claims. But this one out of Michigan just makes me giggle. It has all the elements of ridiculousness: family suing family, destruction of property, cash awards, and pornography.
A Michigan man sued his parents after they threw out his massive collection of pornography, sex toys, and sexual paraphernalia. This happened when the parents cleaned out the residence after kicking their son out, who was living there rent-free at the time,
And when I say he had a massive collection of pornography, I mean it. In total, the court ordered that the parents must pay him $25,000: the replacement cost for his gigantic collection of pornography. The parents claim that they did it for their son’s “mental and emotional heath” was not accepted by the court.
Um, That’s Not How It Works
Thinking he was being clever, one alleged drug dealer tried to weasel his way out of a charge for possession and distribution of drugs.
After being investigated for a report that someone was living out of his storage unit, police received information from his companion to the effect that a man was dealing drugs out of the storage unit. But when police came to search the storage unit for evidence of this offence, the man provided an explanation about why he had a bunch of meth, meth pipes, and other drugs in the storage unit: his friends came to see him for free drugs.
Problem is, that’s not how it works. Whether you give the drugs away for free or sell them for profit, trafficking is trafficking.
Trial By Combat
Adapting court proceedings to address the COVID-19 situation has looked different all across the world. For example, in many US states jury selection is now taking place in arenas and community centres. Some trials are simply not proceeding because juries cannot be empaneled, while others have jurors sitting in random spots throughout the courtroom.
But in Ireland, they are taking a cue from the Gladiators.
That’s right. In Ireland, criminal trials are now being held in a giant coliseum. It appears that the coliseum will hold up to four trials simultaneously, which makes it less effective than a courthouse but better than nothing.
But when I think about this, all I can picture is lawyers dressed in leather skirts and metal breastplates battling out their clients’ cases with spears and the occasional tiger. Yeah, that’s an exciting criminal trial.
