THE MAN WHO STOLE 40,000 COAT HANGERS. This excerpt from a trial transcript is wonderful (link via Instapundit). In fact, it seems too good to be true, It reminds me of the wonderful fictional legal opinions of the law reformer A.P. Herbert. Fardell v. Potts, which examines the contention that “legally at least there IS no reasonable woman”, concludes, “I find that at Common Law, a reasonable woman does not exist.” Rex v. Haddock contains memorable dicta, such as “It cannot be too clearly understood that this is NOT a free country, and it will be an evil day for the legal profession when it is. The citizens of London must realize that there is almost nothing they are allowed to do” and “People must not do things for fun. We are not here for fun. There is no reference to fun in any Act of Parliament.”
Categories
Archives
Recent Comments
- “A COMFORT BLANKET FOR THE SMUG”? (1)
- Nick: Further informing my perspective was that in the writings of classical Romans the middle-aged authors opined...
- ARE PEOPLE LESS VIOLENT? (COMMENT). (2)
- Dick Weisfelder: My prior comment was just in the context of sports. Whether or not from Pinker, I have seen the...
- erik: It seems doubtful that human nature has changed. The most likely explanation would be that modern culture gives...
- HOW BANKS PREPARED FOR A U.S. DEFAULT. (2)
- GREECE’S ADVANTAGE IN THE CHICKEN GAME. (2)
- Nick: That makes sense. It reminds me of the stories Pater Familias would tell me about how in Boston the person with...
- Dick Weisfelder: Greece seems to me to be playing a game that Karl Deutsch called “underdog.” While one...
- FOOTBALL PLAYERS DELIBERATELY CAUSING CONCUSSIONS? (3)
- Nick: It was my understanding that boxing gloves were to protect the puncher’s hands and not the...
- Dick Weisfelder: Remember the Roman arenas? Bare knuckled boxing? Such injuries were taken as natural and accepted in...
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This isn’t about football. Or even sportsmanship. Well, it is about sportsmanship. But what...
- A 25 % CHANCE OF A EURO DEFAULT? (1)
- Nick: The fact that this has gone on for so long is pretty perplexing. The Economist is referring back to articles it...
- DECIDING WHAT KIND OF PATIENT YOU ARE. (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: One can be very open to new technology, but also risk averse. The recent debates about how to...
- “A COMFORT BLANKET FOR THE SMUG”? (1)
Meta
I think it it too good to be true. One of the comments to the original post notes that the author, Miles Kingston, was a humorist, the defendant talks a bit like Mr. Haddock, and the judge sounds like some of A. P. Herbert’s judges. I’ve seen one of Herbert’s fictional cases cited as though it were real, in Martin Mayer’s book about lawyers.