Santa Clara University School of Law faculty member Robert J. “Bob” Peterson was quoted in The Economist about the use of Shakespeare quotes in courts.
From the article:
After all, as Robert Peterson pointed out in “The Bard and the Bench”, all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays—including the lesser-known “The Two Noble Kinsmen” and “Timon of Athens”—have been quoted by American courts, in over 800 judicial opinions. One answer lies in Shakespeare’s status as an embodiment of high culture; citing him seeks to invest the judgement with credibility and invoke a sense of history. Mr Peterson notes that this can “[drive] decisions in substantive ways”, pushing courts towards familiar outcomes.
The entire article is available on The Economist.
