I read the following article by Associated Press:
The judge had the power to let the parties “resolve our disputes on the field of battle, legally,” David Ostrom said, adding in his filing that trial by combat “has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States.”
Can a judge let the parties of a trial resolve their disputes on "the field of battle", legally, in the US?
A duel might be legal in Iowa (dueling is not explicitly outlawed, although a public duel would violate section 723.4 of the Iowa Code (disorderly conduct), a duel resulting in injury would violate 708.4 (willful injury), and a duel resulting in death would violate some part of section 707 (homicide)). However, the judge does not have the power to permit the duel: nothing in Title XV: "Judicial Branch and Judicial Procedures" lists combat as a form of judicial proceeding or provides a mechanism whereby a judge can order a judicial duel.
(Also, under most dueling traditions, his ex-wife or her champion, as the challenged party, is the one who has the choice of weapons. His request for a delay is thus pointless.)
