The Fan-Judges: Clues to a Jurisculture of Sherlockian Fandom

Abstract

American judges sometimes encourage other participants in the legal system to behave like Sherlock Holmes. They are relying on a shared culture that both appreciates a literary figure and recognizes a human capacity to emulate an imaginary creature (here, Sherlock) outside the context in which it was created. Consciously or not, the judges are tapping into classic fandom, but do they think of it that way, and should they?

Keywords: Conan Doyle, Courts, Holmes, Judicial, Law, Literature, Posner, Roleplaying