It was unclear Wednesday where the Supreme Court might end up on the question of whether Andy Warhol ripped off famed photographer Lynn Goldsmith’s portrait of the late musician Prince, but it was an entertaining nearly two hours of discovery.
Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed that he was a Prince fan back in the ’80s, and after prompting from Justice Elena Kagan, occasionally now. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wondered what it might mean to see Mona Lisa in a dress of a different color. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. speculated that a Mondrian of a different hue would have a different effect.
Name-dropped along the way: Dolly Parton, Elizabeth Taylor, Roy Orbison, 2 Live Crew, “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” and Mork and Mindy. It was an engaging and at times lighthearted debate at a court where ideological tension is usually more apparent. Of course, there were also Campbell soup cans.
Supreme Court, dogged by questions of legitimacy, is ready to resume
The…
This article was written by Robert Barnes and originally published on www.washingtonpost.com