I make it a habit to scan the opinions and summary orders of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. I do it to keep abreast of the law in my areas of interest, and so I typically focus only on civil rights cases. But I often expand my reads and play games for amusement. For example, in race, gender and other discrimination cases, I’ll read all summary orders in addition to published opinions. To test my own (widely shared) views regarding the outcome-oriented approach of certain of that court’s members, I’ll deliberately skip over the identity of the panelists, read the opinion or order and then guess who the author or panelists are. That I am so frequently correct in my presumptions is both gratifying and depressing.
Otherwise, I do make it a point to read any dissenting or concurring opinion of Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs, even in cases concerning an issue I care little about, like whether a prisoner is getting enough basketball court time or peas on his lunch plate. Jacobs can be counted upon to do two things: 1) respect and apply the rule of law even-handedly no matter who the parties are or their race and gender (which cannot be said of some of his colleagues), and 2) make you laugh. He is a brilliant scholar, a highly gifted writer – and a giver of comic relief.
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