Top Five "Justice Is Served" Moments of the Week, From LeBron to a Former Madoff Investor

Justice, or even injustice, is a concept often taken for granted as a function of democracy served in a courtroom. That is, until weeks like this come along and we are reminded of what happens when people take justice into their own hands, in and out of the courts. Sometimes...

By Leslie Minora

December 18, 2010

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Justice, or even injustice, is a concept often taken for granted as a function of democracy served in a courtroom. That is, until weeks like this come along and we are reminded of what happens when people take justice into their own hands, in and out of the courts. Sometimes it's ugly; at times, it's funny; and in the worst cases, it results in courtroom justice being served to the renegade personal justice-server. Here are the Juice's Top Five "Justice Is Served" moments of the week...

5. Two words: LeBron James. The Heat won its tenth straight game Wednesday night, and it happened to be against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Justice? Lemons to Lemonade? Call it what you will.

4. "...bifidus regularis," which "helps naturally regulate your digestive system." We've all heard those Activia commercials, and we've all thought, "Yes, it would be great to have a digestive system as regular as Jamie Lee Curtis's." Well, it looks like the yogurt over promises and under delivers. Dannon settled state and federal investigations for $21 million. This is only one year after the yogurt giant settled a class action lawsuit for $35 million.

3. This story is actually quite sad, and still presents many unanswered questions, but when a Fort Lauderdale woman allegedly lights her boyfriend's crotch on fire, it pretty much defines taking justice into one's own hands. NBC Miami aptly draws a connection to the Lorena Bobbitt story. Police arrested the woman for aggravated assault.

2. Broward County divorces are the South Florida answer to Vegas marriages. They're both quick and legally effective. Last Saturday was Family Pro Se (do it yourself) Day at the main courthouse in Broward County. People filing uncontested divorces showed up without a lawyer and were promptly granted their holiday wish for single-dom while clearing the court's backed-up docket.

1. This week's ultimate expression of justice came from Barbara Picower, the widow of a Bernie Madoff investor who died last year in Palm Beach. Picower returned $7.2 billion that her husband earned as a result of the massive Ponzi scheme, which she calls "deplorable". Now, many investors who were on the wrong side of the elaborate hoax are expected to have money returned to their once-deep pockets.

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