Chief Justice John Roberts joined Judge Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas for a conversation at the Baker Institute. It was a fun watch.

What struck me the most about the conversation was how intellectually curious the Chief Justice is and how much he loves history. Though both of those things are not surprising, considering his job title and his undergraduate degree in History. But it seemed as if he came to life more when he was telling a historical anecdote than when he expounded on the role of the judiciary in America.

For example, he talked about how when he first went into one of the conference rooms at the Court, he did not recognize some of the former Chief Justices. He thought how embarrassing it would have been for him had a Senator asked him, "So, you're the 17th Chief Justice. Who are the others?" Only for him to respond with "I don't know." So, he spent the first summer after he was appointed reading and learning everything he could about the other Chief Justices.

Further evidence of his intellectual curiosity was that he also said the Chancellorship of the Smithsonian is the best part of being the Chief Justice. He then went onto explain where the finances for the Smithsonian originally came from, and contrasted Andrew Jackson's response to the offer with something along the lines of "We don't need British money" with John Quincy Adams' response with something like, "Well, hang on there, not so fast."

He recounted an anecdote from Chief Justice John Jay—the first Chief Justice—after Washington asked him for legal advice. Chief Justice Jay said that it was not his job to provide advice to a sitting President, for he was in a different branch of the government. While that is a commonplace notion today, it wasn't then.

The Chief Justice also recounted the story of when he was nominated to the D.C. Circuit in 1992, but the Senate never voted on his confirmation. He said it was sad, of course, but looking back he was glad it happened.

It was a disappointment. You look ahead and plan what your life will be like. I think it was a great honor. It was a great calling to be a federal judge. In retrospect, 100%, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. That is a young age to take on a life-tenure job. You give up a lot of opportunity for other experiences. I'm pretty sure if I had done that, I wouldn't have ended up where I am now. You do develop something of a track record and it is not always something that appeals to people. And I went on and was able to do private practice but also another government opportunity. It was a disappointment but turned out alright.

"It turned out alright" is a bit of an understatement, Mr. Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Regarding the Court's summer recess, he mentioned that it was important in order to maintain collegiality on the Court. It allows the Justices to decompress after a long ten-months filled with contentious issues and important decisions, and he said it allows them to remain friendly throughout the term.

Louis Brandeis said he could do the 12 months worth of work on the court in 10 months, but he couldn't do it in 12 months. And I think there was a lot of wisdom in that. And, you know, sometimes people get together in the summer, do this and that whatnot. I am, I think I got the group right, a four seasons fan. And my approach is, see you in September . . . . But so that helps sort of recharge the batteries.