Your Litigious Pats: The Face That Launched a Thousand Lawsuits

The case of Charlie Weis versus the surgeons who performed his gastric bypass received a dose of unbridled starpower on Friday with an appearance by an immaculately groomed Tom Brady.

Yvonne Abraham at the Globe deserves kudos for a slyly funny article covering Brady's impact on the courtroom:

"Don't anybody get cute with those picture phones," [court officer ] O'Brien sternly warned those who remained, "or I'll take them away from you."

Nobody got cute.

She goes on to describe the entire courtroom going into full-on celebrity sugar shock. Brady looked right at the jurors and made them laugh. The jurors dug it. It got their minds off the unfortunate condition of Charlie Weis' innards.

Jessica Heslam over at the Herald focused on the female reaction to Brady's good looks. Charlie Weis isn't even mentioned until the sixth paragraph. For the record, Abraham also waits to mention Weis - he doesn't appear until her fourth paragraph.

People racing to the courthouse with their camera phones makes for a great story, but it sure doesn't say much about the legal system. Although Brady can testify to seeing that Weis was a wreck after his surgery (no one doubts his complications), it isn't clear that having Brady as a character witness proves whether or not the doctors did their jobs.

We're not taking sides in this case, as gastric bypass surgery is not our forte. Then again, it isn't Tom Brady's forte, either.

Trading-card image of the face that launched the hearts of jurors from Amazon. We didn't use a picture of him in court because we were worried he'd turn around and sue us!