Legally Weird - FindLaw Legal Curiosities Blog

Legally Weird - The FindLaw Legal Curiosities Blog


Crooks 'Butt-Dial' 911, Get Busted for Break-In

A pair of alleged burglars butt-dialed 911, allowing a dispatcher to listen in as they planned and committed a burglary.

The bosom buddies now face charges of breaking into a car, possession of stolen property, conspiracy to commit a crime -- and several counts of embarrassment.

As summer approaches, weather-appropriate attire is an absolute must, and on a hot sticky summer day in NYC, the dress code may call for you to be topless.

But it's not only the fashion police who will have to give you a pass. The boys in blue of the NYPD will also have to keep their cuffs in their pockets, according to a memo revealed in a topless woman's lawsuit.

The NYPD memo clarifies that being a shirtless woman is not an arrestable offense in New York City.

Inmate Sues Taco Bell for Stealing Doritos Locos Tacos Idea

A federal prison inmate is suing Taco Bell over its new menu item, the Doritos Locos Tacos.

But Gary Cole, who's serving a 25-year sentence at a super-max prison in Florence, Colorado, isn't looking to get his hands on some of these ingenious tacos with hard shells made from Nacho Cheese Doritos Chips.

Instead, Cole claims in a federal lawsuit that he is the inventor of the Doritos taco shells, and that someone has stolen his now hugely successful idea, the Dallas Observer reports.

Rich Moms Hiring Disabled Guides at Disney to Cut in Line

What does the upper crust at Disney World look like? According to the New York Post, they're rich Manhattan moms who hire disabled tour guides so that they (and their non-handicapped children) can cut in line.

To be a part of the elite 1% who get to feel nauseous after a whirl on the Mad Hatter's Tea Party or get delightfully drenched on Splash Mountain without waiting in line for hours, these "black-market tour guides" cost about $130 an hour, or more than $1,000 for an eight-hour day.

Disney's message to these line-cutting moms: Cut it out.

'Robin Hood' Parking Meter-Feeders Sued for Harassment

To the dismay of every urban damsel, a parking meter "Robin Hood" group is being sued for harassing parking enforcement officers.

Garret Ean and his band of merry men call themselves "Robin Hood of Keene," as in Keene, New Hampshire. They walk the streets and feed parking meters about to expire, WMUR-TV reports.

A far cry from Sherwood Forest, the city of Keene is accusing the group of harassing Meter Maid Marians and interfering with their work.

The "man who fled zombies" Jeremiah Clyde Hartline pleaded guilty to three felony counts Monday after a wild big rig crash that he claims was caused by the walking dead.

The plea bargain allows the potential "Zombieland" cast member a sentence of up to five years in prison, which is a no-tasty-brainer compared to the approximately 12 years he might face if he went to trial, reports U-T San Diego.

Belief in zombies might be laughable, but possible defenses to felony theft charges based on zombies might not be.

Woman Slaps Deputy to Go to Jail, Quit Smoking

Smoking is a nasty habit and quitting can be a challenge. Some people try the nicotine patch, while others apparently go to jail to quit smoking.

Not rehab, jail.

Etta Mae Lopez decided to slap a sheriff's deputy so she could go to jail, where smoking isn't allowed, the Associated Press reports. (Dear smokers: Does nicotine chewing gum taste that bad?)

New Twist in Rastafarian's Religious Pot Case: Where Is He?

Dude, where's my defendant?

A Rastafarian pot enthusiast has pulled the "religion" card in his defense. But when his case came up in court this week, he was nowhere to be found.

Robert Joseph Simmons, 33, believes he doesn't need to worry about a thing -- not because every little thing is gonna be alright, but because he claims marijuana is a "core tenet" of his religion. Simmons appears to take his religious practice very seriously, because he was busted with more than two and half pounds of pot and 13 pills of hydromorphine, The San Francisco Examiner reports.

But where is Simmons now? And is it possible to legally smoke Mary Jane in the name of religion?

When you filled out your Mother's Day card this year (you haven't?), did you pause and think of some bonehead move your mom pulled over the last year?

Here's hoping that dumb move by your mom didn't get her arrested, as happened to quite a few conniving (and some unwitting) criminal mothers over the past few years.

Proving that having the ability to produce or rear children does not a criminal genius make, here are 10 dumb ways moms have gotten arrested:

Facebook Stalking 'Victim' Stalks Herself in Bizarre Revenge Plot

The alleged case of a phony Facebook stalking victim raises an interesting philosophical question: What happens if Narcissus looks into the water and sees a catfish?

We apparently have an answer, as the purported Facebook stalking "victim" -- 52-year-old Cheryl Nelson of Grand Rapids, Michigan -- has now been charged in the matter, after trying to pin the blame on her ex-boyfriend's new love interest.

But police say Nelson actually Facebook-stalked herself in a bizarre plot for revenge.