Female lawyer who stands just 3ft 8in in court sues witness who laughed hysterically at her and started singing ‘Hi Ho’

A dwarf prosecutor in is suing a man she called as a witness in a court case - after he broke down laughing in court at her size.

Silke Schoenfleisch-Backofen, 39, is a little lady with a big name, and an even greater sense of right and wrong.



She may stand only 3ft 8in high but Ms Schoenfleish-Backofen punches well above her legal weight as many villains in Frankfurt have found to their cost.

'Power Frau': Prosecutor Silke Schoenfleisch-Backofen, pictured in her Frankfurt office, is not to be trifled with despite her size



So when Russian-German Wadim Golanev, 25, cracked up in hysterics at the 'dwarf lady' in court during a case about theft, she was decidedly unimpressed.



Golanev was unable to answer her questions due to his hysterical laughter, pointing at her and singing 'Hi Ho, Hi Ho!' from Snow White And The Seven Dwarves.

No-one else joined in. And before he left the witness box he was handed a hastily scrawled summons accusing him of 'obscene insults' and ordered to appear before a judge next month.

Insulted: Silke Schoenfleisch-Backofen decided to become a lawyer after being ruled out of medical school... to sue the medical school

In legal circles Ms. Schoenfleisch-Backofen has the nickname 'Power Frau' - mighty woman.

She decided to become a lawyer after failing to get into medical school because of the dwarfism that hindered her growth - in immediately set about suing the health ministry for refusing her entry.

'What's big for me is not the physical measurements of the body, but what's big inside you,' she said.



She has been a prosecutor at the Frankfurt State Court for eight years, mostly dealing with business law although she has done the odd murder case.

Not to be messed with: German prosecutor Silke Schoenfleisch-Backofen is only 3ft 8ins but is a big name in legal circles and a regular on TV

She first hit the headlines in Germany in 2006 when textile heir Andreas Grimm, 25, was killed. She successfully prosecuted his best friend even though the victim's body has never been found.

She is a leading light in a professional body for people of limited stature - The Federal Association of Small People and Their Families - and is often on TV and in newspapers fighting the corner of society's smallest.

German prosecutor shot dead during trial

German police say a 54-year-old defendant shot and killed a prosecutor during his trial in the Munich area.

Police spokesman Guenther Beck said the man opened fire Wednesday afternoon in the Dachau administrative court trial. The alleged shooter was on trial over claims he paid his employees improper wages.



Beck says he does not know what specific security measures the court had nor how the defendant managed to get inside with a gun.



He says the shooter, a Dachau resident about whom no other details were available, shot the 31-year-old Munich prosecutor several times, killing him.



He says there are no reports of other injuries in the courtroom.

Police overpowered the shooter took him into custody.





