Man Asks Court For “Trial By Combat” Against Iowa Ex-Wife

Well this is a new, or old way I guess, to settle a dispute.

David Ostrom of Kansas has recently asked an Iowa court to allow him to settle a dispute with his ex-wife and her attorney by having a "trial by combat" and using Japanese swords to achieve this. According to the Des Moines Register, Ostrom asked the Iowa court to allow him 12 weeks to get or forge katana and wakizashi swords (yeah, it got serious). Ostrom has had many frustrations with his ex-wife's attorney which is why he has asked to fight them.

Ostrom apparently got this idea from a case in 2016 where the New York Surpreme Court acknowledged that duels were not abolished when it comes to justice. However, Ostrom's ex-wife's lawyer did respond to this by noting that although the U.S. and Iowa consititutions do not prohibit this type of duel, "it does prohibit a court sitting in equity from ordering same" (Des Moines Register).

So, will Ostrom get the duel he wants against his ex-wife and her lawyer? Well, the court has not ruled either way as to what will happen so I guess we will just have to wait and see.

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