If ever there was a reason to call for a mistrial.

A 56-year-old British man named Barton "Bart" Simpson appeared in court yesterday to answer to allegations that he brought a prohibited firearm with him to Birmingham airport last Spring.

The existence of a man who shares his name with a beloved cartoon troublemaker would have been funny enough — until the court list revealed that Simpson's trial would be presided over by a judge named Mr. Burns.

Recorder Burns of the Warwick Crown Court in Warwickshire, um, recorded Simpsons' not guilty plea before the trial commenced.

"It's a bizarre coincidence that Bart Simpson is actually on trial in front of Mr Burns but it'll proceed as any other criminal case would," a court employee told the SWNS. "There were some eyebrows raised when the court list was published."

[H/T: Arbroath, screengrab via YouTube]