La dolce vita: The Supreme Court's relaxed work ethic.

• Author: Alex, Christina

As jobs go, Supreme Court Justice is not a bad gig. If you're the chief justice, you get chauffered to work in a stretch limo every morning. And even if you're just a regular Supreme, you're provided with an elegant three-room office suite -- complete with fireplace and private bath. Want help decorating your digs? The National Gallery will happily loan you a few of its paintings. Feel like a little exercise? Head for the full-sized indoor basketball court -- or join Justice Sandra Day O'Connor for the daily aerobics class she's arranged for an instructor to teach. Or how about a more extended break? No problem. Go ahead and take off July through September.

Not that life inside the Beltway is all that rough for members of the High Court. As a Supreme, you'll score front-row seats at important functions like the president's State of the Union address, complimentary membership at some of D.C.'s poshest clubs, and invitations to all the best parties. Fancy a bit of culture? Opera lovers Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia got to be extras in the Washington Opera's production of "Ariadne auf Naxos."

A-list status also comes with its financial rewards. As one of the nine finest legal minds in the country, offers of lucrative speaking engagements -- like the $17,374 lecture Justice Stephen Breyer gave at Harvard last year -- will pile up on your desk. First class airfare to these affairs is usually included, and parking at National Airport is always fr-ee. And when you feel you've had enough of life in the fast lane, you can simply retire and continue to receive your full salary -- for $164,100 associate justices and $171,500 for the chief.

Of course, the position is not all fun and games. Justices must sweat through some of the most vexing issues of our day, knowing full well that each of their decisions will have a lasting impact on the lives of millions of Americans. Given the heavy burden we ask them to carry, it once seemed fair to offer the justices a few fringe benefits in exchange. Only lately, the justices don't appear to be keeping up their end of the bargain. While the perks continue to mount, the professional load the justices are shouldering seems to be growing suspiciously lighter.

To start with, the Supreme Court's productivity has been in a free fall. Every year the court is asked to rule on many more cases than it can reasonably be expected to consider. But over the last 20 years, the number of petitions to the court has...