Divorce is never fun, and a variety of unpleasant ways can make it nasty. But one divorce case in the U.S. is sure to surprise even the most seasoned divorce lawyers and experts. A man in Kansas stumps for the return of the great old days of dueling and samurai fighting. We know other ways of solving a dispute, but not like David Ostrom. Kansas resident David Ostrom is making headlines after he applied for a combat trial, to meet his wife’s lawyer and her ex-wife on the “battlefield” to settle their divorce with Japanese blades.
Ostrom argues that trial by combat in the U.S. has never been explicitly banned and says that the people still maintain certain rights not clearly mentioned in the Constitution under the 9th Amendment. Ostrom said that “his idea came after learning of a 2016 case in which New York Supreme Court Justice Philip Manardo admitted that duels had not been eliminated.” Thus, it’s not against the law. If done outside the court room, it could have easily become a criminal case and David would be arrested. His ex-wife’s counsel, in addition, lodged opposition to the request, arguing with the courts not to allow it. Although conflict resolution is a vital skill for both professional and personal life, dueling is seldom the strategy suggested.
Trial by Combat isn’t the only way to negotiate a settlement of conflict. David Ostrom claimed that his ex-wife Paula Ostrom and her counsel on divorce had (him) legally ruined. That’s why he told the judge that he wanted to confront both of them on the battlefield where (he) would quash their souls from their corporal bodies. Well that’s one way to call someone out for a battle. In an effort to be a gentlemen about the case, Ostrom said he had no intention of actively fighting his ex-wife. Alternatively, he wants to give her the chance to have her divorce lawyer fight in her place adding a statement “I think I’ve met Mr. Hudson’s absurdity with my own absurdity”.
Because Ostrom doesn’t own any weapons himself, he applied to” The Iowa District Court in Shelby County” to give him 84 days of lead time to “search or forge” the wakizashi or katana (sword) in Japanese style with which he plans to arm his wife or her lawyer. Ostrom and his ex-wife seem to have argued over property taxes and visits. Hudson said the risk of a duel leading to death means that such ramifications are likely to outweigh the problems that this case addresses. Therefore, he asked the judge to deny the appeal put forward by David Ostrom. In his own filing Monday, Judge Craig Dreismeier said that,” he would not make a ruling anytime soon, noting problems with motions and answers from both sides. Before proper procedural steps are taken to begin a court proceeding, this court will not take any further action regarding any request, appeal or petition filed by any party at this time”.
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