And Finally

A German Volkswagen executive indicted for the emissions scandal who made the mistake of going on holiday to Florida — is spending more time in the sunshine state than he intended after FBI agents arrested him at Miami airport as he tried to return home. Oliver Schmidt is one of six VW executives

A Mafia kingpin who was spared a custodial sentence after a judge took pity on him for having a permanent erection but who fled while under house arrest has been caught, after seven years. Francesco Castriotta, 42, went on the run while under house arrest in 2009.

Discourteous Chinese police officers have been given training on how to be polite in their dealings with the public – for three months in a luxury hotel. Police in Chang’an district, in the city of Xi'an, announced the training, held at a five-star hotel, after a local television channel reporte

Firefighters had to be called in to help a Scottish police officer after they handcuffed someone — themselves. The incident occurred at a safety session in Aberdeen. Police said the handcuffs “malfunctioned”, requiring firefighters armed with boltcutters to free an officer.

A Canadian judge who wore a Donald Trump "Make America Great Again" cap in his courtroom the day after Trump's election victory has been removed from the bench. Justice Bernd Zabel of the Ontario Court of Justice received flak for wearing the pro-Trump hat in court on 9 November last year, with a nu

The Green Party in Germany has said disabled people should be allowed to claim money from the government in order to buy sex on prescription. Elisabeth Scharfenberg, a member of the German parliament, said local authorities could pay for sex workers, who are increasingly being asked to work in the c

A shoplifter who underestimated the available space in her leggings when she put a frying pan down them and tried to exit an IKEA without paying was apprehended by security. Sierra Coleman, 28, was easily spotted by guards who attempted to detain her as she argued with them despite the frying pan be

An Arkansas judge will never serve on the bench again after resigning immediately after allegations of sexual misconduct were put to him. Timothy Parker continues to deny swapping sexual favours with "many female litigants" in exchange for favourable bond conditions or the release of the women or th

Six prisoners escaped a US jail on Christmas morning by removing a toilet and crawling through a hole behind it. The Christmas escape from the Cocke County Jail Annex in Newport, Tennessee was short-lived as the sixth inmate was recaptured on 28 December.

Over the past year, our And finally section - with the most absurd, offbeat, strange or funny legal stories - has kept lawyers entertained. Here, we list our 10 most popular stories of 2016:

Dogs should not be treated like children, an incensed judge ruled as he threw out a divorcing couple's bid for joint custody of two dogs. Justice Richard Danyliuk, sitting in the Provincial Court in Saskatoon, was forced to tell the pair that a dog "enjoys no familial rights" and that, unlike dogs,

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has issued a plea to teenagers to stop sneaking into its stores for unauthorised sleepovers.

Madonna has been told she will be given no special treatment in a legal battle over her $7.3 million apartment in New York City. The singer is suing the owner over a change in the terms of her lease, in particular a rule preventing her children or staff being at the property while she is absent.

Police officers broke a car window to save a woman they thought was dying – only to find it was a mannequin. Cops in Hudson, New York, received a call that an elderly woman had “frozen to death” in a parked car, The Times Union of Albany reports.

A police officer has been accused of pulling women over at traffic stops – to ask them out on dates. New Jersey man Marquice Prather, 37, was arrested last week on charges of third-degree tampering of public records as well as fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records.