Lawyerly Lairs: Chief Justice Roberts's Island Hideaway

When the Supreme Court isn’t in session, many of the justices — such as Justice Scalia and Justice Kennedy — traipse off to Europe. But Chief Justice John G. Roberts, showing his diligence, sticks around town (at least more than his colleagues). He was recently spotted at work on a Sunday.
When he does travel, look for him not in the Old Country, but in New England. Chief Justice Roberts recently acquired a house on a small island off Port Clyde, Maine (pictured). Tony Mauro has the details:

Roberts and his wife, Jane, paid $475,000 in June for a two-acre property and roughly 1,300-square-foot house on the island. The seller was Steve Thomas of “This Old House” TV fame.

The island is reachable by boat, and that has proved to be a bit of a problem for Roberts. In a brief interview on the subject of his new home, Roberts joked that he had trouble achieving the right ratio of gas to oil for his boat’s motor on a recent trip. The main reason for the miscalculation, he said with a laugh, was that when he asked around to be sure how many pints there are in a quart, most people told him four — instead of two, the correct answer.

It’s nice to know that we’re not the only folks who struggle with measurements. So does the brilliant Chief Justice!

[Roberts] no family connections in Maine. But Roberts said his family has vacationed in the area in two of the past four years and decided to take the plunge. Kevin Lipson, a partner at Roberts’ former law firm Hogan & Hartson, owns a house on the island and introduced him to the rustic retreat several years ago.

Town assessor’s agent James Murphy Jr. describes Roberts’ house as “pretty average,” a one-story structure built in 1965 but remodeled a few years ago. It also has an “outbuilding,” Murphy adds, but he is quick to assure that it is not an outhouse but a shed.

Sounds like a perfect place for clerks’ quarters, should JGR ever invite them out to his retreat.
While the island sounds lovely, we’re a little disappointed that the Chief’s pad is a “pretty average” house, built in the dreaded 1960’s, and worth under $500,000. We were expecting something a bit more grand.
We just hope it’s less decrepit than that other New England SCOTUS home: Justice Souter’s dump house.
Courtside by Tony Mauro: Paradise Island [Legal Times]

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