ZiefBrief

First Star Trek, Now Monty Python Cited by Courts

 

Last week we Tweeted a blog post about a recent decision that included a reference to Star Trek's Mr. Spock. In a concurring opinion Texas Supreme Court Justice Don R. Willet quoted Spock's maxim that it was only logical that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. To read the decision click here.

Now we are able to report a new addition to enlightened jurisprudence: a case from the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas that cites to a sketch by Monty Python. In footnote 69 of a decision authored by US Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith (available as a .pdf file from the ACLU at this link) the court makes a parallel between the ability of law enforcement agents to track the target of an investigation using cell phone location data with the demise of Mr. Nesbitt in the famous "How Not To Be Seen" sketch that appeared in both Episode 24 of Monty Python's Flying Circus and in slightly different form in the film Now For Something Completely Different.  Legal researchers who want to view the sketch should go to YouTube and search for "Monty Python" and "How Not To Be Seen" or try this link.  Thanks to USF Professor Susan Freiwald for bringing this to our attention.

Google Searches in "The Ghost Writer"

A few months ago, I blogged about how watching law-themed movies or TV series with lawyers can be just a wee bit annoying for lay people in the same room with the JDs.  I just experienced my first moment of librarian high dudgeon while watching "The Ghost Writer" with my husband yesterday.  During one scene, Ewan McGregor's character uses Google to try to find out key information about other characters.  When McGregor's character entered his Google searches, he inserted a "+" sign between search terms.  Immediately, I began hitting my husband's leg.  He looked over at me wearily, nodded that he understood why I was so worked up, and gave me a warning look that said, "Just settle down and enjoy the movie." 

The source of my indignation?  The default connector in a basic Google search is "AND."  If you enter terms without a connector between them, Google automatically inserts an "AND" between your search terms.  In fact, entering a "+" sign before a search term is the signal that you use to tell Google to search for that term alone and to ignore any synonyms for that word. There was no need to enter a "+" sign for the searches in "The Ghost Writer," which shows me that Hollywood types spend very little time actually conducting Google searches.  Other than this little quibble, great movie!