Duck makes a courthouse appearance
A duck made an appearance a Honolulu courthouse this week when a man tried to sneak it into a felony hearing (not pictured). Reuters

What happens when you bring your pet duck to court? You make national headlines, that's what.

Honolulu resident Michael Hubbard gave courthouse workers a shock earlier this week, when he arrived for an appointment regarding two pending felony assault charges with his pet duck.

The AP reported Friday that Hubbard's pet was discovered by security screeners at Circuit Court after they noticed movement inside the defendant's bag as it passed through an X-ray machine.

Hubbard reportedly initially refused to let workers open his bag before admitting its contents saying, "There's a live duck in there," reported Hawaii News Now Friday.

"A duck is unusual," Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz told the AP. "I don't think we've come across that one before," she said.

Hubbard was barred from bringing the animal into the court room and requested workers allow him to watch over his possessions but was denied. The man reportedly left the duck outside, which Schwartz said patrons are allowed to do at their own risk.

The Honolulu man was also seen trying to smuggle in two 40-ounce bottles of beer but was also denied those privileges. Despite the strange nature of the possessions, Schwartz said the man did not appear to be intoxicated and called the incident peaceful.

"We have no way of knowing if Hubbard was drunk since no one was able to draw blood from him to test this blood alcohol content level," said Schwartz, stating deputies did not smell any signs of alcohol on his person.

Schwartz said although no one has ever tried to sneak in a water fowl, it is a common occurrence for dogs to make an appearance.

"We recommend people not bring their pets. … A lot of people try to bring their pets to court," she said.