Supreme Court Justice Turns Video Gamer

Sandra Day O’Connor, better known in legal circles as the swing and deciding vote in many a Rehnquist Court decision, is using her legal knowledge to create — videogames.

Not quite Grand Theft Auto, Our Courts is an online game populated by diverse ethnic and racial avatars (Grutter anyone?). O’Connor expressed her interest in using the internet to teach American kids a bit about civics and government at the annual Games For Change conference at Parsons The New School For Design. Not much of a computer geek, O’Connor recalled seeing her grandchildren whiz and multi-task multiple computer windows, and it occured to her that many other kids could learn something a bit more challenging and useful than the names of America’s idols. “Two-thirds of Americans know at least one of the judges on the Fox TV show ‘American Idol,’ but less than 1 in 10 can name the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.” That’s not surprising. Some Americans think New Mexico is a foreign country. O’Connor adds: “If someone told me when I retired from court that I’d be talking at a conference about digital gaming, I’d think they’d had one drink too many.” Bottoms up kids! More from Wired.