As we said yesterday, this case is outside our labor and employment law area of practice, but I was really so entertained by it that I couldn’t let it go just yet. So, as inspired by Justice Elena Kagan and with apologies to Dr. Seuss:
The fish on the ship were just too small,
So the federal agent ordered they all
Be kept until the ship reached port.
But the captain threw them overboard.
This put the feds into a state –
“No evidence! We can’t investigate!”
They said, “This is a violation of SOX!”*
And they put the captain in a box
For thirty days. “Not fair!” he cried.
An appeal to the 11th Circuit he tried,
But his plea was rejected out of hand.
He took this to the top court in the land.
The Supreme Court tossed his conviction
By looking at a definition:
A fish is not a “tangible object”
That SOX was intended to protect –
Instead, it’s records and documents.
But the dissent cited as precedent
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish!
A fish not an object? Simply foolish.
*The Sarbanes-Oxley Act
OK, I’m finished. Next time, we’ll be back to labor and employment matters – I promise!