Virtual Flaneurism

A Taxonomy of Supreme Court Humor

Some cuts from the surprisingly sassy NYTimes article:

Drawing on Kant, Schopenhauer and Freud, Mr. Malphurs identified three primary theories of laughter (superiority, incongruity and relief). “Laughter enables justices and lawyers to negotiate the institutional, social and intellectual barriers that impede human communication,” he wrote, seriously.

But the seminal study in this area, from 2005, was indeed lighthearted. It counted up how often comments from given justices were followed by the notation “(laughter)” in the official transcript, and it calculated that Justice Antonin Scalia was by that measure the funniest member of the court, followed by Justice Stephen G. Breyer.

Asked about the Malphurs study, Professor Wexler said, “I’m not sure what to think about it, but I’m pretty sure it makes me want to die.”