WATCH: All-Feline Jury Offers Animated Verdict

02/22/2011

Purrfectly Legal?

You remember Sal Esposito, the beautiful Boston cat who's been tapped for jury duty. As Cats Sratchings reported, Sal's family is hoping to get their gray-and-white feline excused from this civic chore next month, because he's just not fit to sit in a jury box or decide someone's fate. Where would Sal wear his mandatory "Juror" button? Anna and Guy Esposito believe it was a U.S. Census form that led to the confusion, which, so far, the legal system has refused to correct.

Yes, Justice is blind, as we know from seeing her imposing statues. But if she'd take off that blindfold, even she would realize a four-legged juror isn't good for the system. Sal's fans are all hoping he won't have to serve. After all, there's just no precedent for a cat performing jury duty, right?

Ah, but in the imagination of long-ago animators, that is exactly what happened. A paws-up to Cat Scratchings devotee Devin D., for alerting us to this YouTube gem. In a cartoon dream--or nightmare--Mickey Mouse's loyal pooch Pluto finds himself on trial for his misdeeds against cats: scaring them, chasing them, and generally making them very unhappy.

Poor Pluto, collared and chained in court, faces a stern feline judge, a fat cat bailiff, and a very vocal, all-cat jury. You'll see how the clever animators had great fun with this, bringing several of Pluto's critics to life as they described his crimes. Pluto doesn't stand a chance against this dream team in the jury box, with gleaming eyes and glossy coats. But despite Pluto's distress, and the cats' gleeful guilty pronouncement, there is a happy ending to this tale.