Justice Scalia is a barrel of laughs

A second study has confirmed that Justice Antonin Scalia is the funniest judge on the Supreme Court, writes The New York Times' Adam Liptak.

Liptak pokes a little fun at the study's author, Ryan Malphurs, for his very serious update to a light-hearted 2005 study that calculated the justices whose comments provoked the most laughter based on transcripts of their hearings. Malphurs says that study was flawed, because there are many different types of laughter, and he tried to categorize them in his updated study in The Communication Law Review.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who famously rarely asks questions, provoked the least laughter. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Samuel Alito were judged the least funny justices who speak at hearings. Stephen Breyer and John Roberts are in second and third place in funniness, respectively.

Liptak notes there are key differences in style:

Chief Justice Roberts has a light, witty touch, while the laughter that follows a long hypothetical question from Justice Breyer can feel like an expression of relief. Justice Scalia, by contrast, will repeat jokes mercilessly, raising questions about whether he has artificially increased his laugh count.

The rare laughs generated by Justice Ginsburg are not easy to classify. In October, she tried to clarify a lawyer's point about how longtime employees should be treated. "Are you then saying that these people have to be grandfathered?" she asked. She corrected herself, now using gender-neutral language: "Or grandparented?"

There was laughter, but it was not clear whether Justice Ginsburg had meant her clarification as a joke.

(Scalia: AP.)