The Eyes of the Law: What the Judge Had For Breakfast

Chief Justice Roberts went out to lunch yesterday with a quirky companion. Where did they dine, and what did the Chief order?

Or lunch. Specifically, what Chief Justice John Roberts had for lunch yesterday, and where….

UPDATE (12:00 PM): And with whom JGR might have dined. See the update appended near the bottom of this post.

Here’s a quick item from the Reliable Source column of the Washington Post:

John Roberts strolling into the front door of Carmine’s in Penn Quarter Tuesday, instead of the private entrance preferred by other VIPs. No reservation, but no problem: Lunched in the middle of the dining room with another dark-suited guy. Penne pasta, sausage. The chief justice picked up the tab.

The Chief Justice of the United States dines at… Carmine’s? Yes, the place offers “‘wow-factor’ sized portions,” but it’s not particularly high-end. It’s certainly several notches below Tosca, the Italian eatery currently favored by Justice Antonin Scalia. But at least it’s a step up from Cosi and Au Bon Pain, both establishments JGR has been spotted patronizing.

We can actually supplement the record on this Carmine’s sighting, thanks to an ATL tipster who was on the scene:

Sponsored

Had lunch at Carmine’s and Chief Justice Roberts was sitting at a nearby table. He was with a rather rotund, strangely dressed fellow who kept yapping and waving his arms at Roberts.

(If you happen to know the identity of this “strangely dressed fellow,” please let us know.)

And there was a baseball cap on the table that said in big white letters “THE JUDGE.”

Hopefully the hat belonged to the other man, because the notion of the Chief Justice wearing such a baseball cap is deeply troubling. That tiny bald spot — which in no way detracts from his judicial hottie status, by the way — is no excuse. And finally, not to nitpick, but shouldn’t that cap say “THE UMPIRE”?

UPDATE (12:00 PM): Our source isn’t 100 percent certain, but upon information and belief, Chief Justice Roberts’s lunch companion yesterday was Richard J. Leon (D.D.C.). Carmine’s would be a mutually convenient location, and it would make sense for Judge Leon, a district judge in D.C. for more than a decade, to have a cap that reads “THE JUDGE.”

Sponsored

P.S. The title of this post refers to the old saying, sometimes (jokingly) attributed to legal realists, that law essentially amounts to, or is at least heavily influenced by, “what the judge had for breakfast.” For more on the subject, check out Chief Judge Alex Kozinski’s essay, What I Ate for Breakfast and Other Mysteries of Judicial Decision Making.

Hey, isn’t that . . . ?: John Roberts [Reliable Source / Washington Post]
Judicial SIGHT-ation: Judge John Roberts Spotted at Au Bon Pain! [Underneath Their Robes]

Earlier: The Eyes of the Law: Leading Lawyers Chowing Down