Humor in the Courts

In his 1986 opinion, United States v. Sproed, 628 F. Supp. 1234, Judge James M. Burns of the District Court of the District of Oregon exercised his supervisory power right to review the decision of a federal magistrate. The case involved a father and son who were catching butterflies in a national park without knowing that this was potentially illegal. They sent a letter to the federal magistrate asking him to dismiss the case. When the government filed a motion to dismiss, the magistrate did dismiss the case.

In explaining his reason for reviewing the case, Judge Burns wrote: “Judges seldom get a chance to wax lyrical. Rarer still does a judge have an opportunity to see a case centered around a butterfly. Those who read this opinion will, therefore, recognize that this case presented me with a temptation which I obviously could not resist.”

The text of the case includes several poems and possibly the only comic strip, taken from Bloom County, to be inserted into a federal opinion.

To read the text of this amusing opinion on LexisNexis:

1. Click the Get a Document tab.
2. Type 628 fsupp 1234 in the box.
3. Click Get.