Just what exactly does a Supreme Court justice do? Just ask Stephen Breyer, who explains it in much the way one would if speaking to a kindergarten class.

Breyer, a former Harvard law professor, last week was invited by Generation Engage, a group dedicated to politically energizing college-age youth, to host an iChat.

Breyer spoke from the new Swedish Embassy on the banks of the Potomac in Georgetown — a spectacular space with a stunning, cascading wall of water and many glass walls, the idea being to promote openness and accessibility. Youth were stationed at the embassy and remotely, by computer, in Richmond, Va. and New York’s Lower East Side.

Somewhat quiet, shy and balding, Breyer took to the front of the room with relative ease. It took the justice a minute or two to adjust to iChat technology as he was sandwiched between two large computer TV screens with live youth looking at him. “It’s very nice to be here,” Breyer said. “I’ve never seen something as complicated as this. I see you looking at me, and I’m looking at you.”

And now, for the explanation of his job: “I’m a judge on an appeals court. One side lost, the other side won. The side that lost, the lawyer thinks the judge is really dumb. The lawyer who lost decides to appeal. We listen. We have a little bit of oral argument and we write opinions.”

Why do cases reach the Supreme Court? “Sometimes it just doesn’t work out,” he said. “Lawyers are supposed to work things out, but sometimes it doesn’t go away.”

Before continuing, Breyer asked, “Now is that dry enough?”

He concluded his remarks by sharing his rules for working with the other judges: 1) No one speaks twice until everyone has spoken once. 2) Tomorrow is another day. “We may disagree like mad, I mean, my goodness, [but] today is today, tomorrow is tomorrow, each case is independent.” Breyer said he has never heard a voice raised in anger in the 12 years he has served on the court.

In the audience were Generation Engage’s founders, Devin and Adrian Talbott (sons of Strobe Talbott), Lauren (Devin’s wife), and Justin Rockefeller, son of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who was there with wife, Sharon. Also in attendance was Swedish Ambassador Gunar Lund, author Patricia O’Toole and Cate Edwards, daughter of former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), who sits on Generation Engage’s board.

Sen. Rockefeller received some good-natured ribbing. “Young people, when asked which institution they trust the most, say the Supreme Court,” said Adrian Talbott when introducing Breyer. “More than the military, more than Congress — excuse me, Sen. Rockefeller.”