A DEADLY BATH
On July 12, 1912, at a house in Herne Bay, Kent, Bessie Munday, 35, drowned in a bath. George Joseph Smith was prosecuted for her murder. During the trial, the bath was brought into the court and used for demonstrations about how she might have been killed. The defence said that she might have had an epileptic fit and drowned, but two of Smith’s previous wives (he was a serial bigamist) had drowned in baths. He was convicted and hanged in 1915.

A SUBLIMINAL IMAGE
In 1985 the programme Spitting Image broadcast a subliminal message advertising the sexual prowess of its makers. Norris McWhirter, joint founder of the Guinness Book of Records and a member of the Freedom Association, complained. Later, the programme broadcast an image of Mr McWhirter’s head superimposed on the body of a naked woman. His young nephew spotted the image by accident when freeze-framing a video. The image, lasting 0.24 of a second, was shown to magistrates who issued a summons against the television authority. The summons was later ruled to be not based on any known offence.

PLATFORM 13, EUSTON STATION
On June 8, 1954, Edith Hare went to Euston station to see her husband off to Chester. She was holding their baby and waving goodbye when she was struck by an open door as the train was pulling away. Throwing her baby to safety, she was knocked between the platform and the train. Her claim for compensation succeeded. To ensure the judgment took in all the evidence, Lord Chief Justice Goddard made a special visit to Platform 13.

A VIRILE MEMBER
A Miss Grimbaldeston had sought to end her recent marriage to a Mr Anderson on the basis of nullity through his impotence. In 1778 the case went to the Arches Court at Canterbury. Inspectors had to assess the husband’s condition. The examination conducted behind the scenes showed that Mr Anderson’s manhood (known in old reports as a “virile member”) was judged to be “soft and short” but the judge, Dr Calvert, noted that such flaccidity “does not always continue” and the marriage should run for three months before the court’s judgment could be conclusive.

THE HAYSTACK AND THE BALE
The old law of deodand (a gift to God) required that whatever item caused someone’s death, including things such as cartwheels, was forfeit to the Crown so that it could be sold and the proceeds put to pious uses. In 1535 a jury in Nottinghamshire considered the death of Anthony Wylde, who had been suffocated in the fall of an enormous haystack. However, the jurors, most of whom would have been farmers, decided that the thing to blame and to be forfeit was merely a small bale.

A LITTLE SPANISH TOWN
In 1963 the copyright owners of the song In a Little Spanish Town sued the owners of the song Why for breach of copyright. Both songs were played on a piano to the Court of Appeal and it rejected the claim. Lord Justice Willmer said that while it was important to consider the manuscript of music, similarity had to be determined “by the ear as well as by the eye”. He said that “the effect on the ear was one of noticeable similarity” but there was insufficient evidence of copying. Music to the ears of the defendant.

THE HAILSHAM CONFESSION TAPE
In 1998 Simon Davey was prosecuted for burglary when, fuelled by “eight to ten” pints, he broke into Hailsham police station in East Sussex one night to report himself for having used a taxi without the means to pay. When a tape of his garrulous confession to police was played at his trial, it produced uncontrolled laughter from the jury. The judge, who also manifested amusement, ordered the tape to be stopped and directed the jury to find Mr Davey not guilty.

THE PALM COURT HOTEL, MALTA
In 1998 three families sued a travel company for an allegedly disastrous holiday involving dirty rooms, a filthy swimming pool and chaotic dining facilities. To assist his decision, District Judge Anthony Cleary went to experience the Palm Court Hotel. Immersing himself in the evidence, he even took a dip in the pool. He was not convinced by the complaints and awarded minimal damages. “Splendid. Thank you so very much,” as Basil Fawlty would have said.

THE BLONDE ADVOCATE
In a case from Hillsboro, Oregon, a witness who had just described a hair colour was asked to point to someone in court with the same shade of hair. He said: “Well, something like hers except for more cheap bleached-blonde hair.” The prosecutor then said: “May the record reflect, your honour, the witness has identified defence counsel as the cheap blonde.”

MISS LILLIAN PELKEY’S PETTICOAT
In Los Angeles, before the Second World War, George W. Hazeltine, 86, lay ill in hospital. He wanted to make a new will and leave $10,000 to his nurses, Lillian Pelkey and Madeline Higgins. There being no paper to hand, Miss Pelkey pulled up her dress, placed a board under her petticoat, and the will was pencilled on her undergarment. The petticoat was eventually admitted to probate but the nurses were prevented from benefiting from the will because they were attesting witnesses of it.

The author is Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Law at the Open University

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