Court Facts

In English and Commonwealth legal systems, the 'v' in court case names (like 'Smith v Jones') is traditionally pronounced 'and' in civil cases and 'against' in criminal cases, not 'versus' as commonly assumed.

Canada has "Apology Acts" in most provinces that prevent an apology from being used as evidence of fault in civil court proceedings, reflecting the cultural importance of saying sorry.

Medieval courts put animals on trial for real. A sow in Falaise, France was dressed in a jacket and breeches in 1386 and hanged in the market square for attacking a child. Rats, weevils, and beetles got court-appointed lawyers. One French jurist, Bartholomew Chassenée, built his whole career defending rodents.