An article in today's Los Angeles Times, explores the penetration of song lyrics into court documents, with one particularly subversive artist emerging as the most often cited: Bob Dylan.

Bob Dylan's songs may be anti-establishment but they are pro-justice, it appears. As writer Carol J. Williams explains: "from U.S. Supreme Court rulings to law school courses, Dylan's words are used to convey messages about the law and courts gone astray." Even Chief Justice John Roberts cited the singer's lyrics in 2008. Take that, hippies!

The chart above details the top ten musicians whose lyrics are cited in court fillings and legal publications, according to research done by Alex Long, a University of Texas law professor who researched the phenomenon one semester in 2007 according to the Times. Long, quoted by the Times, suggests there might be a link between Dylan citations and the age of the judges at the time.

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Eli Rosenberg