Lawyer Pulls a Tyrion Lannister and Demands Trial by Combat
For the record, this is not a joke. For indeed, a lawyer has asked the New York State Supreme Court to allow him to settle a matter by trial by combat. Now lest you think this is some trivial matter that he just wants swept under the rug, that’s not the case here. The lawyer in question has been accused of conspiring with his client to commit fraud, a heinous crime in and of itself. The audacity (in regards to the lawyer) of it all forced him to demand trial by combat.
Here’s the transcription notes from the court, provided by The Wrap.
The court filing states: “Defendant invokes the common law writ of right and demands his common law right to Trial By Combat as against plaintiffs and their counsel, whom plaintiff wishes to implead into the Trial By Combat by writ of right.”
Now I know what you must be thinking, “surely this can’t actually happen, right?” Well, the lawyer actually holds that no court has outlawed or repealed the right to demand a duel to the death. “Since [1776], no American court in post-independence United States to the undersigned’s knowledge has addressed the issue, and thus the trial by combat remains a right reserved to the people and a valid alternative to civil action,” he said.
In fact, several historical figures have died in duels such as these, including a founding father in Alexander Hamilton. Obviously, this is not going to happen or be allowed, but it is still a rather strange occurrence.