Legal Research

A recent Law.com article notes that Justice Scalia mentioned Oscar the Grouch in his dissenting opinion in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party, released last Tuesday.  When I was a kid, Oscar the Grouch was my favorite Sesame Street character (this fact will come as little surprise to some of my colleagues, I'm sure!), so I was thrilled to see him make an appearance in Supreme Court jurisprudence.  I even attempted to name one of my first dolls after Oscar, but because my 2-year-old pronunciation of "Oscar" left something to be desired, she ended up with the more gender-neutral name of "Soccer."

I was curious whether any other children's TV show characters or childhood icons have made it into Supreme Court cases.  I found one mention of the Lone Ranger in Justice Scalia's dissent in  Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419 (1995).  I also found a discussion of Fred Rogers' testimony in Justice Stevens' opinion in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984) (Fred Rogers is Mr. Rogers of the beloved TV show, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood). But no mention of Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Barbie, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, or a host of other characters.  However, I fully expect to see more popular culture references from Justice Scalia in the future since he has managed to work in two such references in the last 13 years. 

Photo Credit:  Oscar the Grouch, by AlbinoFlea, accessed on Flickr on March 20, 2008.