Judge Posner has coined a valuable new term for frivolous arguments and absurd holdings. United States v. Sriram, No. 05-2752, is the case of a crooked cardiologist who swindled millions of dollars from Medicare, yet received "an absurdly light sentence of five years’ probation ... plus restitution of $1,258." Among the reasons given by the trial judge for this sentence was that "the government had violated the doctrine of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), by failing to turn over records of the defendant’s medical training." The records would have revealed the exculpatory (?) fact that defendant had been evaluated as a hopeless incompetent, a fact defendant was already aware of.

Sayeth Judge Posner, "The Brady claim hovers on the border of cloud-cuckooland." (Emphasis added.)

Hat tip to Doug Berman at SL&P, who "wonder[s] if cloud-cuckooland is anywhere near Apprendi-land." Cf. Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 613 (2002) (Scalia, J., concurring).