From jury box to defense table in 45 minutes

By Times Wires
In print: Friday, May 9, 2008

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In the nation's courts

From jury box to defense table
in 45 minutes

In a marijuana possession trial Tuesday in Houston, Cornelia Turner Mayo was among 20 people still in the jury pool when the court took a 45-minute break. Forty-five minutes later, she was not among the people who returned to Judge Sherman Ross' courtroom. Police found the 49-year-old smoking a joint outside the courthouse. Mayo was booked on a charge of possession of marijuana. She'll be arraigned next week in the courtroom across from Judge Ross. "I've had prospective jurors get lost before, but it never occurred to me that they might be getting ready for a marijuana trial by, allegedly, smoking marijuana," Ross told the Houston Chronicle.

Somebody will pay for my ruined day

A New York woman has filed a $100 claim against the city of Norwalk, Conn., saying a family outing to the Maritime Aquarium was ruined by dog feces. Kelly DeBrocky claims her child's shoes, along with the entire outing, were ruined when her 1-year-old stepped in dog feces outside the parking garage. She wants the city to reimburse her for $54 she spent replacing her toddler's ruined shoes and the expenses for parking and aquarium admission on April 5. City attorney M. Jeffry Spahr said the official response is that her claim is denied and in his words, "poop happens."

Suit, countersuit
in dog's death

Jeffery Ely was driving his 1997 Honda Civic near Cloquet, Minn., on the night of Jan. 4 when he hit a dog. Fester, a 13-pound miniature pinscher died instantly. Ely says he feels sorry for the dog's owner, Nikki Munthe. "I know how it feels," he said. "I love dogs." But? "But once you get them, they are your responsibility." Ah. So, he's suing for about $1,100 in damage to his car, time he had to take off from his two jobs to get the car repaired, and court fees. Ely says pieces of the bumper were propelled into the radiator when it hit the dog, necessitating a replacement. Cold-hearted, but he has a point. Munthe, meanwhile, has done the only logical thing in her situation: She has filed a $2,400 countersuit for the cost to buy Fester, the time she had to take off work for court appearances, and the cost of buying a new dog.

Fatherly love

How far would you go, literally?

A 72-year-old man from Taihe in China planned to visit his son in prison in Lianping, more than 600 miles away. He was going to take a train, but his savings was stolen shortly after leaving his home. So he walked. With a cane. For 71 days. China's Southern Daily reports he said he begged all the way and sometimes ate rotten food from trash bins. And the son, Xie Fei, wasn't even his own son. Xie revealed that his real parents died when he was 10 and he was adopted. "He adopted me and loves me very much, but I have nothing to repay all this," Xie said. No matter. "I didn't see him for two years. I am here to visit him and tell him not to worry about me and transform himself for good, while in prison," the 72-year-old said. Prison wardens were so touched they pitched in to buy him a train ticket home.

Compiled from Times wires and other sources.