Uncommon Law
Judge Durwood G. Moore
"Citizen observer" given illegal urine test by judge for being in court.
Abandon all phones, ye who enter.
Dante's famous phrase “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate” in Divina Commedia
(“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”) has found an unlikely modern application in the US courts.
Snoring lawyer rendered conviction unsafe!
The applicant now claims that, during the course of his evidence, he was distracted from properly
concentrating upon the evidence which he was giving by the sleeping posture of his solicitor.
"depart on his flying carpet"This is a singularly unsatisfactory, unfortunate and embarrassing matter.… There is a world of
difference between saying: “If he chose to depart never to be seen again” and gratuitously adding
“if he chose to depart on his flying carpet never to be seen again”.
"The judge's head was almost touching the table"Raymond Betson and Willliam Cockran, members of the £200m Millennium Dome attempted diamond robbery
were denied leave to appeal by the Court of Appeal (Rose LJ, Poole J and Davis J), despite the admission of
the trial judge, Judge Michael Coombe that he 'nodded off' during counsel submission. The judge however
denied that he was snoring audibly.
"A sacrifice so unsparing and complete"The case is remarkable in more ways than one. In the course of the trial the
leading counsel for the Plaintiffs intimated to the Court that he elected to abandon
the whole of the claim originally put forward on behalf of his clients, and
announced that he had determined to take his stand on an alternative claim set up
by amendment at the beginning of the trial.
"Two hours of inexplicable madness"
A US court judge, Niagara Falls City Court Judge Robert Restaino 'snapped' and
"engaged in what can only be described as two hours of inexplicable madness" during a
hearing on 11 March 2005, according to a decision of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
"The USD67million trousers"
The plaintiff brought legal proceedings against the defendants who are owners of a dry cleaning store for
damages amounting to USD54 million (revised down from the initial USD67million) over a lost fair of trousers
Are you a "gambling man"?
"Respondent then told the defendant he was prepared to have a coin tossed
to determine if the defendant should be sentenced to 20 days or 30 days in jail."
