Lawyerly Lairs: Justice Alito's House, Under Contract

It seems that the Alitos priced the house for a quick sale.

As reported last month by The BLT and Roll Call (subscription), Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and his wife, Martha Alito, are selling their million-dollar New Jersey home. Here’s the listing.

But if you were hoping to purchase a piece of history, you’re probably out of luck. The judicial manse appears to be under contract.

That won’t stop us, however, from engaging in a little ogling. Here’s what the listing originally looked like, before the photographs were removed:

More about this supremely appealing residence, after the jump.

Based on the picture, the Alito house looks pretty nice. Here’s what the listing — by the Alitos’ realtor, Maria Rampinelli — has to say:

Custom built home with beautiful views. Kitchen with Granite center island, Dacor cooktop, convection oven. Solid wood doors, beautiful natural moldings throughout. Pella windows. French doors.

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And here are some excerpts from the Roll Call write-up:

[Heard on the Hill] was thrilled to get a sneak peek at the New Jersey home of none other than Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. For $965,000, the eight-year-old, four-bedroom house in the quiet township of West Caldwell could be yours. But checking out the venerable justice’s faux-French furniture? Free!

A source familiar with the property forwarded a link to the online listing, which includes a photo tour of a number of the home’s rooms — although, sadly, not the bedroom….

The house is your typical, newish suburban home, with most of the furnishings and personal effects removed, likely to give it a more spacious look for potential buyers (have we been watching too much HGTV?). Some of the furniture is of the ornately scrolled, wrought-iron variety thought to give suburban spaces a vaguely expensive European flavor.

Based on this description of the interior decor (“vaguely expensive European”), as well as the exterior photograph — center-hall colonial, perched on a hill — the Alito house reminds us of the home of another famous Italian-American living in the Caldwells: Tony Soprano.

(But Tony and Carmela Soprano’s house was (1) larger and more lavish than the supreme judicial abode, and (2) located in North Caldwell rather than West Caldwell.)

Back to Roll Call:

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Our favorite room is the home office, where viewers can only imagine that some of the Supreme Court decision-writing magic happens. A bookshelf lined with tomes (alas, it isn’t clear enough to tell whether the justice favors Danielle Steele or Milton Friedman) dominates the room. And a cozy-looking leather armchair, perfect for huddling over amicus briefs, is in the corner.

And here’s a feature certain to assure would-be buyers: Unlike its owner, the house doesn’t lean to the right at all.

We did a little supplemental research on the Alito home. According to Zillow.com, the Alito house is worth about $1.1 million.

Now, we know that Zillow’s “Zestimates” can be inaccurate. But we can’t help wondering: Did Justice Alito, in putting his house on the market for $965,000, go too low?

Our speculation: Justice Alito and Mrs. Martha Ann Alito priced the house for a quick sale. On a judicial salary of barely over $200,000, carrying two homes — the West Caldwell residence, and the Alitos’ new home, rumored to be in Virginia — can’t be easy….

Alito property listing [Maria Rampinelli Fine Homes]
Where You Hang Your Robe [Roll Call (subscription)]
Seller is Relocating [The BLT: The Blog of the Legal Times via How Appealing]