The Law's Strangest Cases

'The glorious uncertainty of the law!' The lawyers who raised this toast at a London dinner in 1756 must surely have been reading advance copies of The Law's Strangest Cases. Here, in this riotously entertaining collection of true stories, are tales so bizarre, amusing, shocking and utterly ludicrous that even the most sober judge would be impelled to lift his glass in agreement. Take a seat in the public gallery and witness the trial that was wound up because the entire court was rendered helpless with laughter. Hear the final fateful squawks of Polly, the only dead parrot ever to give evidence. Take your place on the bench to look straight into the evil eyes of Harold Shipman, and discover why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a far better detective than Sherlock Holmes. Then join the jury to decide the most indigestible question in legal history: if you'd been shipwrecked 2,000 miles from home, would you have eaten parker the cabin boy? Meanwhile, make sure His Lordship doesn't drop a stitch on his knitting, fall asleep during a murder trial, decide a sentence on the toss of a coin, get his wig stolen, or sign important court papers 'Snow White'-because he will, unless you keep an eye on him.