12/13/2009:
A strange case was brought before Judge Murray's court in Minot, North Dakota, on this date in 1910. A man charged with assaulting his wife claimed the woman was under the influence of the moon. Saying his wife would change her temperament with the changing of the moon, Louis Irving believed he was justified in his actions. His wife, on the other hand, claimed her husband "...did not wait until the moon changed. His actions had no such limitation." Judge Murray, apparently amused, speculated that the husband's actions must have been regulated by the sun, but then it came out that the man became "furious when he got whiskey."
Murray decided to give Irving until December 30th to behave before ruling on the case after Mrs. Irving claimed to be "the happiest woman in the world" when her husband stayed away from old "John Barleycorn."
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Source:
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1910: p.2.