Three Blind Mice
and the farmer's wife
Once upon a time...
there lived three blind mice named Maria, Martin, and Max. They were very poor and lived under Farmer Fred's house, eating the scraps from his table. One day while Fred's wife Fiona was cooking, she saw the trio of mice scurrying away with some bread. She instinctively cut off their tails with her carving knife as they were running away with the food.
Fiona immediately reported the robbery to Sheriff Steve and he arrested the siblings and sent them to jail. They were too poor to be released on bail, so they remained in jail until the day of their trial. The grand jury indicted them for the felony of robbery and they were called to court with an arraignment. Because of their poverty, the mice had the right to a public defender. Since the mice had not been caught previously, they were able to plea bargain for a lesser offense, or misdemeanor. A petit jury was required to determine the verdict based on the facts given and the court given instructions on the law.
It was discovered that Fiona and Fred's cat Candace was in the room when the crime was committed. The court brought her in with a subpoena, requiring her to testify as a witness. The prosecution successfully presented evidence that proved the committal of the crime. All persons involved on either side of the case told the truth, therefore perjury was not committed. The jury's verdict was reviewed by the judge and read aloud in court before the mice were convicted of unarmed robbery, which is a misdemeanor. The defendants did not have to appeal the decision of the court since they had already lowered the charge to a misdemeanor through plea bargaining.