Roberts v. Media Horde

A few weeks before the nomination in mid-June, Lazarus said, Roberts took his two children, Jack, 4, and Josie, 5, on a camping trip with other neighbors. Lazarus and Roberts also took in a Washington Nationals baseball game. It was a rare treat for the two of them, he says.

"He is a 50-year-old father with these two young kids. John's life really changed five years ago," said Lazarus. "He used to play golf a lot. All that stuff really stopped when he became a father. And unlike the rest of us who became a father when we were 32, 36, 37 -- he and Jane became parents in their mid-forties."

"I get the sense that he's getting up earlier and going to bed a little later" these days, he added.

There have been recent sightings of Roberts at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse, on Constitution Avenue, which houses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where Roberts has sat on the bench for two years.

Following orders not to speak with media, his secretary would not comment on the judge's routine, but security guards and cafeteria workers say they've seen Roberts around lately.

"Sure, I see him," said one guard, seemingly a little surprised at the question. "I saw him in the cafeteria recently. He eats like everyone else does."

Said another guard, "He's one of the nicest judges we've got. . . . He's been groomed since birth for this job he's up for, and I think he's going to get it."

The cafeteria is in the basement of Prettyman, a room with about 30 white tabletops, neatly arranged red chairs and dark gray carpeting. A small sign on the door warns against taking trays from the dining area. Wednesday morning about 10, Judge Janice Rogers Brown, fresh from her own controversial confirmation process for a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court, was one of the few trickling in to grab breakfast. "I'm just glad it's over," she said, then hurried on her way.

Milagro Martinez, 28, has worked in the cafeteria for two years. With a co-worker translating for her, she said she sees him on occasion. "Not all the time, but sometimes." He orders a bagel and cream cheese or an omelet, she said. "He's polite."

As he stepped out of the Dirksen Building Tuesday, Roberts listened as a reporter continued firing questions. Finally, Thompson intervened.

"You're going to get the judge in trouble," Thompson said. "He's not supposed to be talking."

Roberts said, smiling, "I think he just told me I'm not supposed to be talking."

As they waited for a red light to change at First and C streets NE, a few Capitol Hill workers leaving their offices greeted the nominee. "Good luck," said one man, shaking Roberts's hand.

There was no traffic in sight, which made the red light seem to go on forever.

Roberts decided he had one last comment.

"Notice," he joked, "I'm obeying the law."