Davies, Ross E. 2017. “The Fan-Judges: Clues to a Jurisculture of Sherlockian Fandom.” In “Sherlock Holmes Fandom, Sherlockiana, and the Great Game,” edited by Betsy Rosenblatt and Roberta Pearson, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 23.

In this piece from the Transformative Works and Cultures special issue on Sherlock Holmes fandom, Ross Davies asks to what extent judges who cite Sherlock Holmes in their opinions, or encourage others in their courtroom to adopt a Sherlockian approach, are encouraging people to engage in fannish behaviour. Davies gives three examples of judges permitting, endorsing, or even commanding Sherlockian behaviour from people in their courtroom – for instance requiring an expert witness to reveal their methodology much like Sherlock explains his to Watson. He argues that the judges who do this must expect that the people they are addressing will be at least familiar – or willing to engage – with Sherlock Holmes. This in turn fosters a kind of Sherlcok Holmes fandom among participants in the legal process.