Thinking about Judges, Judging and Humour: The Intersection of Opposites

Judges and humour are rarely thought of together; however, humour and the judiciary intersect in a wide variety of ways, as the contributions to this book demonstrate. Judges individually and collectively may be the subject or target of humour; decisions may have to determine questions of humour and its effect(s); and judges may create and use humour themselves, often as a way of managing their work, especially in court, but also in the interface between the judicial role and personal life. Courts and their participants, both lay and professional, often feature in comedies and satires that present judicial or legal formalities and customs as entertainment. This chapter introduces the interdisciplinary scholarship on the concept of humour and its application in literary, fictional and workplace contexts, including the courts. The book as a whole examines humour relating to the judiciary, legal processes, cases and legal systems from a range of countries and over time in order to illuminate the many ways that humour and the judiciary intersect.