Letting the Genie Out of the Bottle…in Court.

The evil Jinn possessing the judge!
You might think the American justice system had some…anomalies. And you’d be right. But we learned today from our friends at Lowering the Bar of a case in Saudi Arabia that’s a real head-scratcher.

The case involved a judge who was one of several defendants arrested on bribery and corruption charges. The accused judge told investigators it wasn’t his fault because at the time of his allegedly corrupt rulings he had been possessed by a spirit (“jinn” or “genie” in English) summoned by one of the other defendants. The presiding judge then did the logical thing and called in a genie expert.

The expert, a “well-known cleric” and exorcist “believed to have the powers of speaking to jinn,” later confirmed he had successfully contacted the jinn and would be presenting a full report […]

Hang on a second, said the lawyer for the other guy (who wisely appears to have fled). This exorcist “has not presented any real evidence that the accused judge has been possessed by jinn,” he said, arguing that a sentence cannot be based on “jinn’s allegations.” At least not if it’s jinn hearsay, I guess, because the lawyer seems to have insisted that the jinn itself be called to testify. That’s weird, because why would a jinn be any more truthful in court? It’s almost like he didn’t think they could actually produce the witness.

Sadly, I haven’t been able to find out what ultimately happened, although either way I assume somebody got beheaded.

You know, between the puppet court and the jinns, I think we could really make a spectacle of the court system. At least, more of a spectacle than we have been. Why not make real reality TV out of it?