Story Archive

Oh His God (Whichever He Is)

When a defense lawyer suggested that a robbery victim he was cross-examining had sold stolen goods, he brought a premature end to the trial at the Liverpool, U.K., Crown Court. The witness said knowingly handling stolen goods would be against his religion — and when he specified which religion, the judge said his testimony invalidated his oath. “Unfortunately it was sworn on the Bible and he just informed us he is a Muslim, which means I can’t accept his evidence and neither can you, because it was sworn on the wrong holy book,” the judge, Recorder Patrick Thompson, explained. “We have to start the case again.” And that meant a new jury: “It is probably best a fresh jury who doesn’t think we’re all totally incompetent hears this case.” Recorder Thompson later said the disruption was his fault: the witness chose to swear on the Bible, and he should have respected that choice. (AC/Liverpool Echo) ...In the future, just have everyone swear on a stack of assorted holy books.