Turning the tables on the ``Martian,'' an Ontario Superior Court judge dismissed Rene Joly's ``vexatious'' case on the grounds that he claimed not to be human and therefore had no status before the courts. Joly, described by a lawyer in the case as not your typical Martian, began the action in April, contending that the Shopper's Drug Mart chain had sold him poison instead of medication, that Canadian troops in Germany had implanted a microchip in his brain and that Citibank had perpetrated a credit card fraud all in a bid to further U.S. assassination attempts on his life.
Friday, 13 lawyers appeared in court to file a motion of dismissal on behalf of their clients, including doctors, dentists, hospitals and several drug-store chains.
``Every action that starts, as silly as it is, you've got to take seriously. That being said, I think Mr. Joly has watched too many episodes of the 'X-Files','' said lawyer Daina Groskaufmanis, who represented Citibank.
Joly, 34, a college-educated sales manager, who began his crusade three years ago, represented himself before the courts. ``Genetically speaking, I'm a Martian, yes,'' Joly told Reuters. ``And the judge's decision is tantamount to doing nothing about flagrant crimes that have been committed. Notwithstanding my allegations, the fact that we're allowing these crimes to continue unabated and unpunished is a very bad thing.''
Joly maintains he is cloned from material recovered in the 1960s by NASA from Mars. Unfortunately, he can't prove it because records revealing his DNA have been falsified. ``Mr. Joly himself is not unusual, he's very well-spoken, very well-dressed, he eloquently stated his own case, he's not your typical Martian,'' Groskaufmanis said.
Joly, who has another action pending against President Clinton, the CIA and Canadian Justice Minister Anne McClellan, has filed an appeal of Monday's ruling.
``It's only going to end when the truth is exposed. The American government, and its accomplices in Canada, are trying to eliminate me because I am a Martian and they do want to get their hands on my body,'' he stated calmly.
Citibank and the other defendants are considering seeking costs.
Credit: Netscape "OFFBEAT NEWS" from Thursday May 20, 1999 11:28 pm EST "last update" page. Referral by CAUS (www.caus.org) May 19,1999.