This morning Bart Simpson looked at Mr. Burns and pleaded not guilty.

The incredible state of affairs came to be because Barton “Bart” Simpson, 56, was caught bringing a gun onto a plane in Birmingham, England on May 31st, according to the Solihull Observer.

Simpson does not deny that he brought the old .38 Smith & Wesson revolver onto the plane, a crime that caries a mandatory five year sentence. Instead, Simpson is resting his defense on a quirk in the law that allows people to transport antique weapons.

And so this morning Simpson was in court to enter his plea and there in front of him at Warwick Crown Court was Mr. Recorder Burns. In England judges are called “recorders.”

“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 worker told swns.com.

“There were some eyebrows raised when the court list was published.”