This Weeks Wacky Wednesday Duel of the Irate Kansas Man Requests Trial by Combat
When you think about folks from Kansas, you might think about Dorothy, Clark Kent, the Winchester Brothers, or the band Kansas. You don’t necessarily think about medieval-style combatants that go toe to toe to sort out their differences—that’s something Highlanders do, not folks from Kansas. Although that could’ve changed if David Ostrom had gotten his way.
Ostrom lost a case with his ex-wife involving custody and property taxes, and he didn’t want to be outdone in a court of law. So, he decided to do what any medieval warrior would do in 2020. He asked the judge to sanction trial by combat with swords. He said that trial by combat had not been banned or restricted in the country, so he should have that option.
Strange as it sounds, he said that he wanted to meet his ex-wife and her lawyer in battle, where they could fight with swords. His goal was to “rend their souls from their corporal bodies.” To say he was upset about losing his legal battle would be an understatement.
Where Did Game of Thrones Hurt You?
Ostrom says that he likes the show Game of Thrones and that one of the ways people would solve problems in the show would be to combat one another. His research found that indeed, there was no ban on trial by combat in the United States. This leads to the knowledge that Ostrom is not the only Game of Thrones fan to request a trial by combat. Richard Luthmann, an attorney, requested a trial by combat all the way back in 2015 after being accused of helping a client to transfer assets fraudulently.
Was Ostrom Serious?
Probably not, which is a good thing. He said that he wanted to match absurdities with Matthew Hudson, his ex-wife’s attorney. Asking for a sword fight is rather absurd, so good job on Ostrom’s part. Likely, Luthmann wasn’t serious about his desire to fight either, which is probably where Ostrom got the idea. The goal was to get media attention on his case, and it worked. The results were not quite what he had hoped for, though.
Even though he was not serious, this ploy did end up causing Ostrom some other problems. He was ordered by the court to have a psychological evaluation, and he was temporarily banned from seeing his children. In response to this, Ostrom did not press for trial by combat again. However, he did request that the court order his ex-wife and her attorney undergo psychological evaluations, too.
Ostrom says that he is not receiving fair and equal treatment under the law if he’s the only one who has to undergo the psychological evaluation. He says that his ex’s attorney is “threatening” and “crazy”, and that he needs to be evaluated to see if he is fit to be an attorney. Ostrom filed a motion with the course to have the attorney tested.
The psychological evaluation Ostrom underwent revealed that he is not troubled, but that he has “adjustment disorder mixed with emotional features.” That’s a fancy way of saying he’s not happy at all about the situation with his ex-wife.
Ostrom filed another motion requesting that he be allowed to spend time with his children. He also wants to be reimbursed for legal fees and psychological evaluation. The motion also requests more than a quarter of a million in emotional damages, as well. He says the court wasted his time and money.
It’s nice to know that we don’t have to worry about the United States suddenly promoting trial by combat as a means to solve differences… probably.