"I got your amicus curiae right here!"
AP is reporting on a study by a former SCOTUS law clerk that gauged how funny the members of the nation’s highest court were based on how many laughs they got during oral arguments.
“I don’t pretend that this is a very serious study. I just thought it would be fun and perhaps a bit enlightening,” said Wexler, a law clerk in 1998-1999 for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who got four laughs in the 2004-2005 term.
We listened to the historical broadcasts of the oral arguments of the SCOTUS in the tussle after the 2000 presidential election. It was fascinating. And, much to our surprise, it wasn’t without its lighter moments.
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Reply to: "I got your amicus curiae right here!"
There are a few of us out there who are both lawyers and comedians. I have found lawyers as an audience to be a mixed bag. I had the opportunity to follow Senator Lindsey Graham one evening at an open mic night, (or was it a Trial Lawyers Dinner?) and thankfully he didn’t turn up the energy level in the room too high; his bit about rendition notwithstanding.What I have noticed is that when qualifying myself in front of a jury pool by asking if anyone recognizes me from my performances as a comedian, it does give me greater freedom to be humorous while presenting my client’s case. Generally speaking laughter tends to equal plaintiff’s verdict.In the context of the Supreme Court, I too would laugh heartily when Scalia breaks out his Crocodile Hunter impression when pretending to have found a long lost precedent helpful to my clients. Souter, not so much, but then again I never was one for British comedy.