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Fender Will
In the Canadian prairies, near Rosetown, Saskatchewan, Canada, on June 8, 1948, farmer Cecil Harris wrote his will while fatally injured, pinned down under a tractor.
He etched his holograph will onto the fender of his overturned tractor, using a pocket knife:
"In case I die in this mess I leave all to the wife. Cecil Geo Harris."
He was only found at 10 PM and was taken to hospital but died of his injuries.
The Canadian court noted that Saskatchewan recognized holograph wills and since his handwriting was not in issue, allowed probate of the will etched on a tractor fender, showing the length to which the court's will go to see that a testator's last written wishes are respected.
Home = Castle
Feisty Edith Macefield showed us all just how important that lovely and powerful Latin maxim cuius est solum ejus est usque ad caelum can be.
She owned a 1,000 square foot little piece of real property in Ballard, Washington.
Developers bought up all the land around her but she would not sell her home.
They even offered her $1-million for her $100K property.
So the new commercial development at Northwest 46th Street had to be built around her little bungalow.
Macefield died in June of 2008 without any heirs so she willed the house to the construction superintendent!
The Earl Of Lawlessness
Henry Earl, born on October 24, 1949, has been arrested more than 1,330 times (as of April 2009), mostly for vagrancy offences such as public intoxication and trespassing.
The Lexington, Kentucky man has spent the equivalent of 11 years in jail since 1992.
This is not just an amazing law fact.
In the United States of America, someone celebrates his lawlessness.
He has become an Internet celebrity with a website that tracks his whereabouts and latest offences and which solicits money for his "cause" (www.monkeygumbo.com).
Cheating, Lying Slag of a Wife On eBay
In May 2008, Paul Osborn of Bletchey, England, tried to reinvent family law in reacting to his wife's suspected affair by offering her to the highest bidder on eBay (ad, pictured).
On the posting, he names his wife and set the starting bid at £0.01.
The lesson in law cost him a criminal harassment investigation by Thames Valley Police as his wife, Sharon Osborn, complained. But Mr. Osborn's actions while outrageous, and likely to cost him his marriage, are not likely criminal.
The eBay ad was later taken down.
12-Year Old Daughter 1, Father 0
Justice Suzanne Tessier is a rookie judge, appointed in June 2007, but one who takes her parens patriae responsibilities to heart.
In a family law case before her in 2008, the judge heard evidence that a 12-year old daughter had defied her father's house rules and his express order to stay off the Internet. In the result, it was his wise decision to ground his daughter and cancel her participation in a three-day school trip.
But this child had a secret weapon.
She had been appointed a child advocate as part of her parent's custody dispute and she got her lawyer excited about her rights.
The child became plaintiff and asked the Court to review her punishment.
That's when just plain silly became outright asinine when the judge empowered the girl's defiance of parental authority, and canceled the father's punishment, ruling that it was excessive.
Beaudoin's client appealed the decision to the Quebec Court of Appeal which, as of April 4, 2009, had still not entered a decision.
Young Offender Whisperer
New York City social worker Julio Diaz was just getting off the subway station #6 when he was mugged by a knife-wielding young man. Diaz handed over his wallet.
That's where a normal robbery turned bizarre.
Rather than dial 911 on his cellphone, Diaz called to the retreating teenager and offered his coat. The offender stopped and looked back cautiously but accepted.
Diaz continued to talk to him, eventually inviting him to have something to eat.
When the bill came, Diaz suggested he use his wallet to pay. He promptly returned the wallet back to Diaz.
Diaz pressed on, and asked the teen for his knife. Again, the young offender turned it over and left the restaurant
Caution to readers: don't try this at home.
Blackbrooke's Black History
Blackbrooke is an estate in England once owned in the 16th Century by Welshman and Judge Richard Morgan. Morgan was called to the bar in 1528. He became chief justice in 1553 and took part in the trial of Lady Jane Grey. She was condemned her to death and beheaded. Morgan was overcome by the stress of the trial, went insane and died in 1556.
Two hundred years later, Blackbrooke was owned by a wealthy preacher, Henry Lewis. Moments after his death, his son-in-law John Briggs guided his dead hand to sign a false will. Briggs then placed a fly in the dead man's mouth thus coaxing two witnesses to swear that the will was signed "while there was life in the testator".
In 1795, Briggs was sentenced to death for his part in the fraud but he escaped prison before the sentence was carried out and was never heard from again.
REFERENCES:
- CNC News, Court Quashes Dad's Grounding of 12-Year-Old Daughter, June 19, 2008
- Cohen, A., "Ballard Woman's Last Stand is Still Standing", Seattlepi.com
- Duhaime, Lloyd, LAWmazing 1
- Duhaime, Lloyd, LAWmazing 2
- Duhaime, Lloyd, LAWmazing 3
- Duhaime, Lloyd, LAWmazing 4
- Duhaime, Lloyd, LAWmazing 5
- Hopkins, S., Henry Earl Arrested for Alcohol Intoxication; Could Get 90 Days,The Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader, April 1, 2009.
- National Public Radio (NPR), A Victim Treats His Mugger Right, March 28, 2008
- Trial of George Crossley, Old Bailey, Feb. 17, 1796, published at http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t17960217-70&div=t17960217-70, re Blackbrooke
- Troup, J., Hubby Tries to Flog Wife on eBay, The Sun, May 18, 2008
- Westneat, D., "Edith Macefield and her house were symbols of Old Ballard", The Seattle Times, June 18, 2008, re Edith Macefield.