Hawaii Man Sentenced to 144 Compliments

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. And if you send your ex a bunch of "nasty" text messages and calls in violation of a no-contact order, you'll have to write a bunch of nice about them to make up for it.

So said Maui Judge Rhonda Loo to Daren Young last week, sentencing him to write 144 compliments about his ex-girlfriend in response to the 144 text messages and calls that he was accused of sending her. (We're guessing Young has to turn this homework in to the judge, lest he continue violating the protections order.) Loo's sentence got us thinking of some of our favorite odd punishments, from the Legal Grounds archives:

Florida Judge Punishes Juror With a Sentence of More Jury Duty

So simple, yet so sinister. And the appropriate response to a juror who tries to get herself disqualified from jury duty by disobeying the judge and reading about the case outside of the courtroom. And she probably should've known better -- this wasn't Circuit Court Judge William Fuente's first time sentencing a misbehaving juror to more jury duty, for the same offense.

Judge Orders Deadbeat Dad to Stop Procreating

This doesn't seem like a fun sentence to enforce, especially since castration or forced sterilization is illegal. Instead, Judge Tim Boyle ordered the man (who already had about $90,000 in unpaid child support and interest involving nine children by six different women) to abstain from fathering any more for the duration of his three-year probation. Another child could mean a violation of probation, sending the man to jail.

Court Bans Man From Owning a Dog After Puppy Got Drunk

Max was stumbling around town, intoxicated on vodka and Coke, staggering and falling over when police took him into custody. Also, Max was a Labrador puppy. After the incident, Max's owner was charged with failing to ensure animal welfare and prohibited from owning a dog for three years. That's a long time to go without a best friend.

Related Resources:

• Ronald McDonald Breaks Restraining Order by Entering McDonald's (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)
• Justice Never Sleeps: Courtroom Yawn Earns Man 6 Months In Jail (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)
• Unhappy, Cursing Juror Fined $500 for Courtroom Outburst (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)
• Florida Man Drives Stolen Car to Police Station to Get Docs Left in Other Stolen Car (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)