# Kansas Man requests 'trial by combat' with Japanese swords to settle dispute with ex-wife **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564 "2020-01-17T14:58:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/1 "2020-01-17T14:58:57Z")
Sorry, this was just too weird for me not to post here in MPSIMS. [Story here.](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2020/01/13/iowa-courts-david-ostrom-requests-trial-combat-swords-settle-dispute/4456079002/) > [@](#): > > A Kansas man has asked an Iowa court to grant his motion for trial by combat so he can meet his ex-wife and her attorney “on the field of battle where (he) will rend their souls from their corporal [sic] bodies.” > > “To this day, trial by combat has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States,” Ostrom argues in court records, adding that it was used “as recently as 1818 in British Court.” > > Ostrom said the motion stemmed from his frustrations with his ex-wife’s attorney, Matthew Hudson of Harlan. > > “I think I’ve met Mr. Hudson’s absurdity with my own absurdity,” he said. > > Hudson argued that because a duel could end in death, such ramifications likely outweigh those of property tax and custody issues. > > “It should be noted that just because the U.S. and Iowa constitutions do not specifically prohibit battling another person with a deadly katana sword, it does prohibit a court sitting in equity from ordering same,” Hudson wrote. If this were happening in Florida, there might be a decent chance the judge would approve it. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/2 "2020-01-17T15:02:32Z")
Can he get the viper from GOT to fight for him? ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/3 "2020-01-17T15:41:24Z")
Her lawyers arguments don’t necessarily rule out trial by less than deadly combat like using inflatable sumo suits or paintball guns. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/4 "2020-01-17T15:57:37Z")
Some discussion of why he doesn’t actually have the right to trial by combat, by a lawyer here. > **[Kansas Man Seeks Trial by Combat – Lowering the Bar](http://www.loweringthebar.net/2020/01/kansas-man-seeks-trial-by-combat.html)** ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/5 "2020-01-17T16:03:56Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Can he get the viper from GOT to fight for him? Probably would be better to have The Mountain at your side. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/6 "2020-01-17T16:25:36Z")
Doesn’t the challenged party get choice of weapons, or at least to choose their own weapon? The lawyer could counter with a luger. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/7 "2020-01-17T19:40:35Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Doesn’t the challenged party get choice of weapons, or at least to choose their own weapon? The lawyer could counter with a luger. While we are correcting spelling, isn’t that “Luger”? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/8 "2020-01-17T19:52:53Z")
On occasion, when people talk about toxic masculinity (or prison overcrowding), I sometimes find myself thinking that we should legalize polygamy and duelling. The excess testosterone would remove itself from the gene pool. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/9 "2020-01-18T05:08:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > While we are correcting spelling, isn’t that “Luger”? I was referring to someone who competes in the luge.😉 ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/10 "2020-01-18T06:31:59Z")
I think someone misspelled “loogie” ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/11 "2020-01-19T03:26:38Z")
Well, it’s a Kansas guy in an Iowa court, so there you have it. Call in the heifers. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/12 "2020-01-19T04:32:50Z")
What, good old American guns not good enough for this Midwesterner? The ghosts of Hamilton and Burr mock you from The Beyond, sir, and \*they \*were \*New Yorkers! \* And if there were an actual decision pending before the court this is the point at which Judge Delirious would have granted summary judgement in favor of the wife on the grounds of trollery from the other party. But things have not even gotten to that point apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2020, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/13 "2020-01-19T05:58:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Doesn’t the challenged party get choice of weapons, or at least to choose their own weapon? The lawyer could counter with a luger. If I were the challenged party, I’d tell the judge “Sure, let him have his sword. I want a full auto Thompson submachine gun with 2 fully loaded drum (50 round) magazines.” ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2020, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-man-requests-trial-by-combat-with-japanese-swords-to-settle-dispute-with-ex-wife/846564/14 "2020-01-19T06:09:01Z")
Anyone who has ever been in a custody battle knows - he was just trying to find a more civilized option.