It has been a horrible year to say the least. A global pandemic, devastating wildfires, economic recession, polarizing politicians, and even murder hornets: what’s next? Fortunately, however, 2020 also gave us more lighthearted, strange and, even occasionally, uplifting moments, at least in the legal world. So let’s acknowledge some of the best—and worst—of the offbeat episodes that the legal system gave us.

First, the “Going the Distance” award goes to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky. Like most judges in partisan elections, Karofsky ran for her seat—literally. An avid runner, Karofsky planned to race in an ultra-marathon (a 100-mile race completed over the course of 34 hours) to celebrate her election victory. When the race was canceled due to the coronavirus, Karofsky decided to not only run the course anyway, but also to get sworn in while doing so on Aug. 1. She took her oath (administered by fellow Justice Rebecca Dallet) somewhere around Mile 35. Talk about going the extra mile! A close runner-up is British law student Halo Garrity. In October, the LLM student at Birmingham’s BPP University Law School found an unusual way to raise money for charity as part of the London Legal Walk’s 10K Challenge. Instead of running or cycling to raise money, Garrity swam 200 lengths at her local swimming pool—all while wearing a plastic mermaid tail! Before law school, Garrity had actually worked in a circus as a “professional mermaid.” After fundraising for a good cause, she’s ready to turn her attention to different scales—the scales of justice.