Ohio judge uses verse to deny lawsuit

By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A judge in Columbus wrote a poem to let a prisoner suing an Ohio penitentiary for “emotional distress” know that his lawsuit was being denied and read it in court. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David E. Cain, 72, dismissed Darek Lathan’s lawsuit seeking $2 million in damages over a denied bathroom break. Lathan, an inmate at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient near Columbus, filed three civil lawsuits against the prison in October. The case before Cain involved an accident Lathan had when a guard did not let him leave a line to use the bathroom. Lathan was sentenced in January 2015 to 17 months in prison after pleading guilty to felony vandalism. Cain’s poem explained what occurred and his rejection of Lathan’s argument: Cold showers caused his bowels to malfunction Or so the plaintiff claims A strict uncaring prison guard Is whom the plaintiff blames. While in line for recreation And little time for hesitation His anal sphincter just exploded The plaintiff’s britches quickly loaded. It made the inmates laugh and play To see the plaintiff’s pants this way The foul, unsightly, putrid mess Caused the plaintiff major stress. Claiming loss and shame to boot The plaintiff filed the present suit But the law provideth no relief From such unmitigated grief. Neither runs nor constipation Can justify this litigation Whether bowels constrict or flex De minimus non curat lex. The last line translates as "the law takes no account of trifles," the judge said. Author and humorist Sean Carter, who practiced law for 10 years, said the poem was a bit graphic and the humor may have been better used in a corporate security lawsuit, but the poem did not affect the legality of the decision. "There is no grounds for appeal because a judge is silly," Carter said, adding, "You would not want to read this opinion over lunch." The judge said Lathan's lawsuit was filed incorrectly and was in the wrong court. “This was even more frivolous than we are used to seeing so I thought I would have a little fun with it,” Cain said on Friday. This is the first time the judge, who has been on the bench for 30 years, has used rhyme for a legal decision, but the former newspaper reporter wrote song parodies for press events in the 1970s. Cain said the poem added a little levity to what is normally a serious job. “It was a change from going into a courtroom and hearing about wrecks, rapes and robberies,” he said. As of Friday, Lathan’s three personal injury lawsuits filed in Franklin County Court had been dismissed. (Reporting by Kim Palmer; Editing by Ben Klayman)