Chief Justice John Roberts cracks himself up.

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that AT&T is not entitled to a “personal privacy” exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. In the FCC v AT&T (pdf), the Federal Communications Commission successfully argued against giving corporations personal privacy rights under FOIA. I know, seems like a big “Duh” but with this court, it’s remarkable. Even more remarkable: The court decided 8-0 in favor of the FCC. (No one has explained the missing ninth vote. Perhaps Clarence Thomas — aka “The Great Silencio” — just didn’t put his hand up and no one noticed, or he stepped out to the bathroom.)

In any event, in still more surprisingly decent news from our oh-so-dour Court, it looks like Chief Justice Roberts has a cute little sense of humor on him. Below is from his opinion in the case:

“The protection in FOIA against disclosure of law enforcement information on the ground that it would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy does not extend to corporations. We trust that AT&T will not take it personally.”

Elsewhere in the decisions, too, says a Wall Street Journal report, Roberts “lacerated the company like a sushi master with a lump of tuna.”

Could we be clawing our way back from some of the more egregious changes to our law under the Bush administration? One can hope.