It can sometimes be easy to forget that Supreme Court justices are people too. Despite all that power and those big black robes, the justices have been known to leap for joy, wallow in sorrow, tell jokes, and embarrass themselves in front of friends and family just like everybody else.

Perhaps our view of them as something utterly different than the rest of us is not surprising. They do not allow cameras into the court, so we cannot see them work. They are typically (if understandably) reticent during their confirmation hearings. And when they do make a public appearance or publish a book, their topics tend toward the esoteric — Supreme Court history, textual interpretation, the proper role of the judge in a democratic state.