Fantasy Scotus!

Tip of the OOTJ hat to Suffolk 2-L law student and our student newspaper, Dicta for alerting me to Fantasy SCOTUS. Apparently, I am way behind the pack on this, which was formed in 2009, but it looks like a delight. Especially for those who really, really follow the Supremes anyway, this should be their thing! Pass it along to the con law scholars on your faculty (and students) and start cheering for them to win! The motto is "Play as the 10th Justice."

There's no money involved, but the winner of the golden gavel gets major bragging rights. We are nearing the end of this season, so if they aren't already playing, I suppose it's a good time to start watching and learn the rules. The idea is basically to try to predict the outcome of the various cases before the Court. Apparently 70% is the best the top players manage with this fractured Court. There is a whole list of badges you can win, with entertaining names. Apparently, (and I suppose not surprisingly), people get very competitive:

Due Process

We realize that the players in this league are lawyers and law students, so let us explain the due process rights of users. If users disagree with the scoring of a case, an appeal must be filed at our contact page within 24 hours of the scoring update (which may be some period of time after the Supreme Court releases the opinion). We will reconsider all of our scoring opinions using a “clearly erroneous” standard of review. Additionally, if you have any objections to these rules, all protests must be filed at our contact page by October 15, 2010. Challenges to the rules will be reviewed with an “abuse of discretion” standard, so plead your cases well. All determinations are final.

Any changes made to questions, scoring, or anything else will be posted to the blog. This will serve as constructive notice.

Last season we had several incidents involving cheating (see here and here). While we have taken numerous steps this season to prevent any and all cheating, if we discover a user is cheating, he or she will be banished and shunned (No Smirnoff Ice necessary) from FantasySCOTUS. Just play fair.