The Funniest Justice, week 11: Eating Scalia’s words
During oral arguments Wednesday in Dan’s City Used Cars, Inc. v. Pelkey , Justice Antonin G. Scalia quoted an excerpt of a Supreme Court opinion, then turned to attorney Andre Bouffard to grill him.
“So you want us to eat those words, [say] they were wrong, or somehow you don’t come within them?” Scalia pressed.
“Respectfully, Justice Scalia,” Bouffard answered, “I think those words came from your dissent in that case.”
“Ah,” Scalia said, drawing laughs from the courtroom. “I forgot that.”
We don’t know if Scalia was aware that Justice Stephen G. Breyer was closing in on his lead in the Funniest Justice tally, but this week he was an absolute comedian on the bench, drawing a whopping nine laughs to pad his lead. Breyer showed his funny side once again, gaining four laughs. Here’s the tally after 11 weeks.
Justice Antonin G. Scalia: 43
Justice Stephen G. Breyer: 34
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.: 9
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy: 6
Justice Sonia M. Sotomayor: 6
Justice Elena Kagan: 6
Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.: 3
Justice Clarence Thomas: 1
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 0
