Supreme Court justice cites ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ in criticizing colleagues

Just because it’s legalese doesn’t mean it has to be stiff. That was the case Thursday when Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dropped the phrase “Calvinball,” from Bill Watterson’s beloved Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, into a seething dissent from a majority opinion siding with the Trump administration. 

In a 5-4 ruling, the court allowed the administration to cancel — at least for now — almost $800 million in research grant projects funded through the National Institutes of Health for programs allegedly linked to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives while litigation proceeds. In a brief, unsigned order, the majority overturned a lower court’s decision that had restored funding to 1,700 grants.

The nation’s highest court again used its shadow docket — its fast-track emergency process widely criticized for lack of transparency — to overturn a lower court’s decision. Critics say this allows the Court to offer little reasoning for its rulings, often in favor of Trump. 

“This is Calvinball jurisprudence with a twist,” Justice Jackson quipped. “Calvinball has only one rule: There are no fixed rules. We seem to have two: that one, and this Administration always wins.” 

What is Calvinball?

Calvinball, an imaginary game invented by the eponymous Calvin, recurs throughout Watterson’s daily comic strip, “Calvin and Hobbes,” which ran from 1985 to 1995. Watterson introduced the game on May 5, 1990, as an invention of the witty and mischievous Calvin.

Jackson cited the Oxford Dictionary definition: “Activity reminiscent of the imaginary game of Calvinball, in not following any discernible rules, or in which individuals act in a self-servingly inconsistent manner.” 

Jackson argued the Supreme Court seems to have no consistent legal rules, other than siding consistently with Trump, using the court’s emergency rulings track. 

And now, “Calvinball” is enshrined in Supreme Court jurisprudence.