Since this blog focuses mostly on consumer safety, there’s not much opportunity to write about legal humor. But there’s a lot to go around, and every once in a while (especially on a Friday), it’s nice to dive in and see what has made blawgers chuckle recently.
One hilarious blog post from a Maryland personal injury law firm stacks fictional lawyers against each other in the “Battle of Television’s Greatest Lawyers.” The bracket puts Seinfeld’s Jackie Chiles (featured prominently in our Seinfeld legal rundown) against The Addams Family’s Gomez Addams, Arrested Development’s Barry Zuckercorn against Bob Loblaw, and The Simpsons’ Lionel Huntz against Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, among other great match ups. Visit the bracket to vote on who should proceed to the quarter finals.
Of course, some of the funniest stories can’t be made up. Kevin Underhill, who runs the Lowering the Bar blog (“Legal Humor. Seriously.”), is always great at putting the week’s most ridiculous stories into perspective. When a judge rejected the request of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols to receive a diet with more fiber, Underhill quipped “Hey, if you would prefer to have your events catered by Wolfgang Puck, don’t help somebody blow up a building.”
Also this week, Underhill points out that an Illinois City Council might ban eye-rolling at public meetings. The idea sprouted from a June meeting in which a community member rolled her eyes and sighed audibly while someone else was speaking. Underhill calls foul, arguing that eye-rolling should be protected by the first amendment. “Eye-rolling conveys a message, typically something like ‘I believe that what you just said and/or did is utterly stupid and its stupidity went well beyond what I, as a reasonable human being, should be expected to bear.’ (Actual content may vary.)”
Finally, as you prepare to hit the restaurant scene for the weekend, beware that an Iowa chef was fined this week for licking toads. The restaurant was fined just $355 for promoting a YouTube video in which the head chef is seen “kissing and licking” toads. This led Eric Lipman of Legal Blog Watch to make a solid point: “If you need to be ‘trained’ not to lick and touch live animals in the kitchen, perhaps a change of career is in order.”
Have a great weekend!
Andy Gillin received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He is the managing partner of GJEL Accident Attorneys and has written and lectured in the field of plaintiffs’ personal injury law for numerous organizations. Since 1972 he has been helping seriously injured victims throughout northern California fight & win their personal injury cases. Andy is one of the top awarded & recognized wrongful death lawyers in northern California.