The year 2018 wasn’t exactly an easy year for the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices said goodbye to a longtime colleague and hello to a new one who took his seat after a bruising confirmation hearing. Still, there was some humor, injecting itself into the serious business of oral arguments. Here are some memorable moments, lightly edited for length and clarity, where laughter lightened the room.

➤➤ “Why are we here?”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor: “Even if you don’t have an expectation of privacy in the trunk, you’ve claimed an expectation of privacy in the property. And absent probable cause, there’s no right to search. So why are we here?”

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