Legal Commentary

As someone who cherishes my Green Bag bobbleheads of the Justices, I was relieved by this news:

And so the Lillian Goldman Law Library, which probably has the best collection of rare law books in the world after Harvard and the Library of Congress, is now the official repository of bobbling likenesses of a dozen Supreme Court justices.

?The bobbleheads are, not to overstate it, a little bit more than toys,? said Ross E. Davies, the editor in chief of The Green Bag, which calls itself ?an entertaining journal of law? and created the dolls. ?They?re portrayals of the work and character of these judges.?

The bobblehead of Justice David H. Souter, for instance, wears heavy gold jewelry and sits on a lifeguard stand, reminders of his opinions in a copyright case involving the rap group 2 Live Crew and a sexual harassment case brought by a female lifeguard. In a second copyright case, Justice Souter referred to ?the latest release by Modest Mouse?; his bobblehead plays a snippet of a song by the band.

These new acquisitions present challenges. ?I don?t know if anyone has cataloged bobbleheads before,? Mr. Shapiro said. ?This might be breaking new ground.?

I'm curious to see how the good people at Green Bag will incorporate, into the (upcoming, I assume) Justice Thomas bobblehead his often-reported interests in RV-touring and NASCAR.