Miscellaneous

Miss Trial

By Anne Skove, Esq.

OK, OK, so we're about 26 hours too late on this but to the one (maybe) person out there who gives a hoot and hasn't heard, Britney's ordeal ended in a mistrial!

See the extraordinarily lengthy (for its topic) Britney Spears Case Ends in Mistrial, Harriet Ryan, L.A. Times (oh that explains it!) (October 22, 2008).

Judging from recent news, Miss Spears's case appears to be one of the few mistrials of late. The whole thing hinged on whether her domicile was California or Louisiana. The concept of domicile regularly shows up on bar exams, so it's not too surprising that a person (any person, we are not judging Miss Spears here, but particularly someone who may own more than one house in a single state, or who has family in various locations around the country) might be confused.

Either way, what a fabulous way to introduce twelve unsuspecting citizens to the court system! Several days in a traffic (!) trial where the sleb defendant doesn't show because she "doesn't like court" and/or is not competent to assist in her defense. Surely the jurors are all writing books about the experience as we write.

What will we talk about now? What will great legal minds ponder? How will law students of the future remember these times?

Fear not, Lindsay Lohan is being sued for battery, false imprisonment, emotional distress, and negligence (not to be confused with negligee).

See Lindsay Lohan Sued over SUV Chase, Joyce Eng, tvguide.com (October 22, 2008), and thank goodness for small favors.

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on October 22, 2008 (boomark / email).