TWO STRIKES....AND YOU'RE AN IDIOT

A California judge got taken for a ride last week after she gave a break to a car thief appearing before her -- only to have him leave the courthouse and immediately attempt to steal her car.

Phillip Bernard came to Lillian Sing's courtroom having failed to follow the rules of his probation, but the judge was feeling charitable and let him off with only a warning. As soon as he got the good news, however, Bernard left the building, took a weighted sock from his bag and smashed the window of Sing's car in an attempt to boost it.

The judge shrugged off the attempt, saying "he's one of 1,600 I deal with. Most of them do pretty good." (San Francisco Chronicle)