Oh Judge Posner. Today’s WSJ had an interesting piece about Justice Kennedy and Justice Ginsburg who recently served as judges for famous fictitious cases, such as the trial of Hamlet. Seems cool enough; not to Judge Posner.

[Posner] says mock trials of fictitious characters don’t “contribute to anyone’s enlightenment.” For Judge Posner, the hobby symptomizes the broader ills of contemporary “celebrity culture.”

“That’s the problem with presidents and Supreme Court justices and billionaires. They think that because they are successful in one sphere they’re experts in everything,” Judge Posner says. Supreme Court justices should stop “preening” and return to “their dignified anonymity,” he says.

Dignified anonymity? Posner? Really? Justice Ginsburg would have none of this, with a Supreme benchslap of her own:

“He’s an odd person to say that, considering the range of his writings, including ‘Sex and Reason,’ ” said Justice Ginsburg, a regular mock trial participant.

Posner, not a fan of trying fictitious characters, prefers “modernizing or parodying classic texts.”

One of his favorites updated a Jane Austen novel from 19th century England to present-day Beverly Hills.

“The movie ‘Clueless’ is a parody of ‘Emma,’” he says, with the Alicia Silverstone character, Cher Horowitz, substituting for Austen’s Emma Woodhouse.

As if. Somewhat related, but did Cher actually hook up with her step-brother? Isn’t that, well, kinda messed up? Couldn’t they do better than that? Anyway.