DELAWARE — Santa Claus on the stand, that was the scene at a mid-December trial in Georgetown. The hopes of little boys and little girls the world over hang in the balance, and the freedom of one Mr. Kris Kringle on the line. At the end of the day, the ruling from the presiding Judge was both definitive and firm, the jolly man in red is real, he is "the" Santa Claus, and now the holidays can proceed without fear of empty stockings or gift-bare decorative trees.
Some might view this case as a well-disguised reenactment of the Miracle on 34th Street, but the children in the courtroom knew better; they knew the stakes, and they would help make a difference in the outcome of the case.
It all started when a man named Kris Kringle was hauled into court after claiming to be Santa Claus. It's a claim prosecuting attorney Bliss Soucek brushed aside as pure lunacy.
"I think that person is not sane, and I think we need to make sure that they are safe and protected so they don't try to come down chimneys and fly over roofs with reindeer."
Lucky for Kringle, he had great representation in the form of defense counsel and retired judge Jane Brady. The masterful former judge understood the challenge in front of her but pushed ahead anyway, knowing good little boys and girls the world over were depending on her.
"The spirit of Christmas is in all of us, and all we have to do is just tap it in the hearts of the people deciding the case, the judge, the public, and they're going to know in the end that this man really is Santa Claus ."
Kringle himself seemed to be sweating gumdrops at the prospect of being locked up.
"Well, I am a bit nervous, I must say. I do have great counsel, and I am very hopeful that the truth will prevail." Said Kringle.
The defense leaned towards the safety of sanity, calling Attorney Rob Gibbs, AKA state psychologist Dr. Herbert Westover to the stand to testify against the man claiming to be Santa.
"Well, it's a little hard to take." Said Westover in a pretrial moment with the press.
Once the trial started, round and round it would go, the prosecution casting doubt at every turn, the defense doubling down on the idea that Kris Kringle is, in fact, Santa Claus. The children in the courtroom did their best to sway the judge by ringing bells and showing everyone that they believed and yet still in the waning moments of the case, things looked bleak.
Then it happened, a true Christmas miracle, a bailiff charged into the courtroom at the eleventh hour, bringing with him boxes and boxes of letters to Santa Claus. Evidence that, along with the bell ringing, hooting, and hollering of the children in the glary, swayed the judge to rule in favor of Kringle.
A loud cheer broke out in the court, and singing soon followed. So this Christmas, when you crawl out of bed and find that special gift under the tree, it's because enough people had the bravery to believe that Santa Claus is real.