With all due respect to Alanis Morissette, the legal system may not be quite like a person who overcomes a fear of flying—only to have his plane crash, or even like a person who purchases the winning lottery ticket—only to die the next day. But lawyers and those involved with the law nevertheless witness more than their fair share of moments that are utterly dripping with delicious irony.
Take, for example, James Miller of Oxford, Ohio. In October 2009, the then-18-year-old college student figured he’d come up with the best Halloween costume on campus: a giant Breathalyzer device (complete with a strategically placed plastic tube with the instructions “Blow Here”). But Halloween parties being what they are, young Miller overindulged and was spotted driving the wrong way on a one-way street. The policeman who stopped him administered a real Breathalyzer test to the giant faux Breathalyzer, and recorded Miller’s blood alcohol level as 0.158, or nearly twice the legal limit. He was charged with DUI and underage drinking, but not before his wonderfully ironic mugshot in costume—a giant “Breathalyzer” busted for DUI—went viral.
