World Trade Center AftermathThe law treats some acts as grave enough that it won't give them legal effect unless a person with knowledge of the facts attests to them. The oath of a witness tends to give the act heft. It suggests you can trust what the witness says.

But what happens when the witness botches the oath?

Scene: An office near Ground Zero. Way up high. Perhaps in 40 Wall Street. Which has that awesome Duane Reade store on the ground floor. Some place posh in the area no matter what.

Snappy: Did you know, Bitey, that people could insure themselves against risks they Do Not Have?

Bitey: When, in the course