The Onion Files Amicus Brief with SCOTUS... no really

[Jimmy Higgins]

link to brief

link to article

Despite the sarcasm and hyperbole, the legal brief isn’t a joke. The publication’s aim is to get the Supreme Court to scrutinize qualified immunity and free speech rights. (Amicus briefs are documents filed by parties not directly involved in a case to provide the court with additional information.)

“The Onion cannot stand idly by in the face of a ruling that threatens to disembowel a form of rhetoric that has existed for millennia, that is particularly potent in the realm of political debate, and that, purely incidentally, forms the basis of The Onion’s writers’ paychecks,” the brief says.

It also highlights what the Onion suggests are shortcomings in the legal system when it comes to protecting those who use comedy to question people in positions of authority.

 

[Worldtraveller]

That is gold. Definitely worth the read.

 

[Jarhyn]

That is gold. Definitely worth the read.

A friend linked it in a local chatroom. At first it seems like a parody, until they get to the punchline.

 

[Gospel]

Spoiler: SPOILER

They sweetly whisper “stare decisis” into their spouses’ ears.

I couldn't even go any further. Had to stop.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Spoiler: SPOILER

They sweetly whisper “stare decisis” into their spouses’ ears.

I couldn't even go any further. Had to stop.

It is a brilliantly written piece. You really should read it. Kurt Vonnegut Jr would have very much approved.

 

[Jarhyn]

Spoiler: SPOILER

They sweetly whisper “stare decisis” into their spouses’ ears.

I couldn't even go any further. Had to stop.

The part that really got me came later when they inserted a random block of latin to find out if the reader was really paying attention.

 

[Rhea]

That was incredibly informative and such a fun read!

 

[Gospel]

The Latin

Spoiler: SPOILER

They sweetly whisper “stare decisis” into their spouses’ ears.

I couldn't even go any further. Had to stop.

The part that really got me came later when they inserted a random block of latin to find out if the reader was really paying attention.

Yeah, that made me laugh because I don't understand any of that stuff anyway. So to see it being used to drive home a point (which I think was announcing "this is a parody" before parodying to the reader would be just as boring and self defeating as Law Latin). was hilarious.

 

[ZiprHead]

While the Friend Of The Court brief is very funny, I'm not so sure the court will be quite so amused.

 

[Gospel]

If that's the case The Onion set it all aflame gloriously. It's crazy that anyone even needs to tell the courts what arresting someone for a parody means.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

While the Friend Of The Court brief is very funny, I'm not so sure the court will be quite so amused.

Well Thomas won't be, but I don't think that guy has ever been happy in his life. Alito probably wouldn't either. Barrett is on the fence. I expect a 6-3 or 7-2 on the Onion. That is certified fresh.

 

[starwater]

I haven't finished reading it but love it so far:

......The Onion also owns and operates the majority of the world’s transoceanic shipping lanes, stands on the nation’s leading edge on matters of deforestation and strip mining, and proudly conducts tests on millions of animals daily.

 

[Worldtraveller]

Did you know they have trillions...trillions, I say!!!!.....of followers?

 

[Gospel]

I swear, if you don't see the humor in that peace something has to be wrong with you. It's a serious topic for sho but man The Onion was funny on this one.

 

[ZiprHead]

I swear, if you don't see the humor in that peace something has to be wrong with you. It's a serious topic for sho but man The Onion was funny on this one.

Do you think the court will find it funny or frivolous?

 

[Gospel]

I swear, if you don't see the humor in that peace something has to be wrong with you. It's a serious topic for sho but man The Onion was funny on this one.

Do you think the court will find it funny or frivolous?

I don't care what the court's opinion is on The Onion's piece, I care about their opinion on the case.

 

[Rhea]

I think their supporting evidence is rock freakin’ solid. So hopefully the Justices and see the Truth that they speak!

 

[Gospel]

Folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene, AOC, Stephen Tyrone Colbert & Tucker McNear Carlson should care about the court's ruling (even on the decision to review). Everybody.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Colbert would be the only one it could technically apply to.

Carlson is "entertainment". Greene and AOC are technically the ones to be mocked.

 

[Gospel]

They all use parody and satire some way better then others but they all use it.