The Funniest Justice, week 2: Humor is in Breyer’s DNA
“So look at Dotson,” Justice Stephen Breyer said during oral arguments Wednesday in Skinner v. Switzer, a case that asks whether a prisoner can use a §1983 claim rather than a habeas petition to access DNA evidence that could be exculpatory. “Dotson says that you go into habeas if winning – i.e., getting the DNA – would necessarily spell speedier release. End of the matter. I’m reading to you from Justice Scalia’s concurrence where he quotes my majority with great praise.”
That laugh-garnering comment was one of four made by Breyer this week, making him this week’s Funniest Justice. Justice Anthony Kennedy drew laughter twice, which puts him on the board. And the frequently funny Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Justice Antonin Scalia earned a chuckle apiece this week.
Here are the standings after two weeks:
Justice Antonin Scalia: 6
Justice Stephen Breyer: 5
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.: 2
Justice Anthony Kennedy: 2
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 1
Justice Samuel Alito: 1
Justice Clarence Thomas: 0 (Last oral argument utterance: Feb. 22, 2006)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor: 0
Justice Elena Kagan: 0
