Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office  October 19, 1991
Nominated by	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Thurgood Marshall
Born	June 23, 1948 (1948-06-23) (age 59) Pin Point, Georgia
Spouse	Kate Ambush Thomas (div. Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 Thurgood Marshall ( July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American Jurist and the first African American Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Pin Point is an unincorporated community in Chatham County, Georgia, in the United States; it is located 18 km (11 miles from Savannah The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule ) Virginia Lamp Thomas
Alma mater	College of the Holy Cross Yale University
Religion	Roman Catholic

Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist and has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991. Virginia Lamp Thomas (born February 23, 1957) is the wife of United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and a consultant at the Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval The College of the Holy Cross is a prestigious exclusively undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester Massachusetts, Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. JURIST is an online legal news service hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, written by founder Professor Bernard Hibbitts and a staff of more than This is a list of past and present justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. He is the second African American to serve on the nation's highest court, after Justice Thurgood Marshall. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States Thurgood Marshall ( July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American Jurist and the first African American Appointed by Republican President George H. W. Bush, Thomas's career in the Supreme Court has seen him take a conservative approach to cases while adhering to the principle of originalism. George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined

Early life

Clarence Thomas was born in Pin Point, Georgia in a small community outside Savannah. Pin Point is an unincorporated community in Chatham County, Georgia, in the United States; it is located 18 km (11 miles from Savannah His father left his family when he was only two years old,^[1] leaving his mother Leola Anderson to take care of the family. When Thomas was seven they went to live with his mother's father, Myers Anderson, in Savannah. Savannah is a city located in the state of Georgia, United States. He had a fuel oil business that also sold ice; Thomas often helped him make deliveries. Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from Petroleum Distillation, either as a distillate or a residue

His grandfather believed in hard work and self-reliance and would counsel him to "never let the sun catch you in bed in the morning. " In 1975, when Thomas read Race and Economics by economist Thomas Sowell, he found an intellectual foundation for this philosophy. Race and Economics is a book by Thomas Sowell that analyzes the relationship between race and wealth in the United States, specifically that of blacks Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930) is an American Economist, social commentator and author of dozens of books ^[1] The book criticized social reforms by government and instead argued for individual action to overcome circumstances and adversity. He was also influenced by Ayn Rand's bestselling book The Fountainhead, and would later require his staffers to watch the 1949 film version. Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American The Fountainhead is a 1943 Novel by Ayn Rand. It was Rand's first major literary success and its Royalties and movie rights ^[1] Raised Roman Catholic (he later attended an Episcopal church with his wife, but returned to the Catholic Church in the late 1990s), Thomas considered entering the priesthood, attending St. The Episcopal Church is the official name of the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States. John Vianney's Minor Seminary on the Isle of Hope near Savannah and, briefly, Conception Seminary College, a Roman Catholic seminary in Missouri. Isle of Hope is a Census-designated place (CDP in Chatham County, Georgia, United States. Conception Abbey is a Roman Catholic monastery of the Swiss-American Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation. A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is a specialized and often live-in Higher education institution for the purpose of instructing students Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Thomas told interviewers^[2] that he left the seminary (and the call for priesthood) after overhearing a student say, in response to the news that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot, "Good, I hope the SOB dies. Martin Luther King Jr ( January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, Activist and prominent leader "

At the College of the Holy Cross he helped found the Black Student Union and graduated in 1971 with an A.B., cum laude in English. The College of the Holy Cross is a prestigious exclusively undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester Massachusetts, Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an Academic degree was earned He then attended Yale Law School from which he received a Juris Doctor (J. Yale Law School, or YLS, is the Law school of Yale University in New Haven Connecticut. Juris Doctor (abbreviated JD or JD, from the Latin, Teacher of Law) is a first professional graduate degree and Professional D. ) degree in 1974. To Dennis Prager, Judge Thomas has stated his opinion that, in his early career, his Yale law degree was not taken seriously by law firms to which he applied, who assumed that it was obtained because of affirmative action policies. Dennis Prager (born August 2 1948) is an American syndicated radio talk show host columnist author ethicist and public speaker [1]

Thomas has one child, Jamal Adeen, from his first marriage. This marriage, to Kathy Grace Ambush, lasted from 1971 until their 1984 divorce. ^[3] Thomas married Virginia Lamp in 1987. Virginia Lamp Thomas (born February 23, 1957) is the wife of United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and a consultant at the

Since joining the Supreme Court, Thomas requested an annulment of his first marriage from the Roman Catholic Church, which was granted by the Tribunal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington. Annulment in the Catholic Church See also Annulment (Catholic Church In the Roman Catholic Church, a marriage is considered to be a valid contract He was reconciled to the Church in the mid-1990s and remains a practicing Catholic. ^[4][5]

In 1994, Thomas performed, at his home, the wedding ceremony for radio host Rush Limbaugh's third marriage, to Marta Fitzgerald. Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American radio host and conservative Political commentator. ^[6]

As his wife grew up in Nebraska and attended college at the University of Nebraska, Thomas is an avid Nebraska Cornhuskers fan who attends Husker football games, and in 2007 met with the 2006 National Championship Husker Volleyball team, telling them he bled Husker red. Nebraska ( is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and The University of Nebraska is the public University system in the state of Nebraska, USA. The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. ^[7][8]

Career

Early career

Official Equal Employment Opportunity Commission portrait of Thomas

From 1974 to 1977, Thomas was an Assistant Attorney General of Missouri under then State Attorney General John Danforth. The individuals listed below have all served in the position of Attorney General of Missouri. John Claggett "Jack" Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is a former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and former Republican When Danforth was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1976 to 1979, Thomas left to become an attorney with Monsanto in St. Louis, Missouri. The Monsanto Company ( is a multinational Agricultural biotechnology Corporation. He returned to work for Danforth from 1979 to 1981 as a Legislative Assistant. Legislative Assistants are people who advise and counsel members of Congress on matters of legislative (law formation interest Both men shared a common bond in that both had studied to be ordained (although Thomas was Roman Catholic and Danforth was ordained Episcopalian). Danforth was to be instrumental in championing Thomas for the Supreme Court.

In 1981, he joined the Reagan administration. From 1981 to 1982, he served as Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR is a sub-agency of the US Department of Education (ED that is primarily focused on protecting Civil rights in Federally assisted The United States Department of Education (also referred to as ED, for Education Department is a Cabinet -level department of the United States From 1982 to 1990 he was Chairman of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC is a federal agency charged with ending employment discrimination

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed Thomas to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, known informally as the D

Supreme Court appointment

Main article: Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination

On July 1, 1991 President George H.W. Bush nominated Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall who had recently announced his retirement. On July 1, 1991 President George HW Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States of America to replace Thurgood "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 Thurgood Marshall ( July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American Jurist and the first African American ^[9] Marshall had been the only African American justice on the court. The selection of Thomas preserved the existing racial balance of the court, but it was seen as likely to move the ideological balance to the right.

American Bar Association's (ABA) rating for Judge Thomas was split between "qualified" and "not qualified. The American Bar Association ( ABA) founded August 21 1878 is a voluntary Bar association of Lawyers and law students which is not specific "

Organizations including the NAACP, the Urban League and the National Organization for Women opposed the appointment based on Thomas's criticism of affirmative action and suspicions that Thomas might not be a supporter of the Supreme Court judgment in Roe v. Wade. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is one of the oldest and most influential Civil rights organizations The National Urban League ( NUL) formerly known as the National League of black men and women, is a Civil rights organization based in New York City The National Organization for Women ( NOW) is the largest American Feminist organization Affirmative action in the United States|Employment equity (Canada|Reservation in India|Numerus clausus The term affirmative action describes many policies aimed at a historically Roe v Wade, 410 US 113 (1973 is a controversial United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a Landmark decision regarding Under questioning during confirmation hearings, Thomas repeatedly asserted that he had not formulated a position on the Roe decision. ^[10]

Some of the public statements of Thomas's opponents foreshadowed the confirmation fight that would occur. One such statement came from activist Florence Kennedy at a July 1991 conference of the National Organization for Women in New York City. The City of New York Making reference to the failure of Robert Bork's nomination, she said of Thomas, "We're going to 'bork' him. Robert Heron Bork (born March 1, 1927) is a conservative American legal scholar who advocates the judicial philosophy of Originalism. "^[11]

The term has since become a part of the American political lexicon. Liberals have generally used the term to mean defeating conservative nominees for allegedly being "out of the judicial mainstream"; conservatives, conversely, use it to describe what they consider unscrupulous tactics to derail the nominations of nominees unacceptable to left-leaning interest groups.

Allegations of sexual harassment

Toward the end of the confirmation hearings, information was leaked to the press from an FBI interview with Anita Hill, an attorney who had worked for Thomas at the Department of Education and the EEOC. Anita Faye Hill (born) is a professor of social policy law and women's studies at Brandeis University at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and On October 11, 1991, Hill was called to testify during the Senate confirmation hearing. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.

Hill said: "He spoke about acts that he had seen in pornographic films involving such matters as women having sex with animals and films showing group sex or rape scenes. Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον ( zṓion, "animal" and φιλία ( philia, "friendship" or "love" is a Paraphilia Group sex is Sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person . . . On several occasions, Thomas told me graphically of his own sexual prowess. . . . Thomas was drinking a Coke in his office, he got up from the table at which we were working, went over to his desk to get the Coke, looked at the can and asked, 'Who has put pubic hair on my Coke?'"^[12] Hill also indicated that Thomas made reference to the pornographic actor Long Dong Silver. Long Dong

Angela Wright, who worked with Thomas at the EEOC, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Thomas had repeatedly made comments to her, much like those he allegedly made to Hill, including pressuring her for dates and commenting on her body. The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (informally Senate Judiciary Committee) is a Standing committee of the United States Senate, the Rose Jourdain testified that Wright had discussed Thomas' behavior with her at the time it occurred, and that she had considered it sexual harassment. In light of the fact that Thomas had testified that he had fired Wright for calling another employee a "faggot," ^[13] Sen. Joseph Biden, chair of the Judiciary Committee, decided against publicly hearing Wright's testimony.

Another former Thomas assistant, Sukari Hardnett, made further damaging charges against him. Although Hardnett made it clear she was not accusing Thomas of sexual harassment, she provided the Judiciary Committee with sworn testimony that "if you were young, black, female, reasonably attractive and worked directly for Clarence Thomas, you knew full well you were being inspected and auditioned as a female. " Additionally, Ellen Wells, John W. Carr, Judge Susan Hoerchner, and Joel Paul testified that Hill had discussed Thomas's actions at the time she worked for Thomas and that she had characterized them as sexual harassment. ^[14]

Thomas denied all allegations of sexual harassment and sexual impropriety by Hill and the others. Of the committee's investigation of the accusations, Thomas said: "This is not an opportunity to talk about difficult matters privately or in a closed environment. This is a circus. It's a national disgrace. And from my standpoint, as a black American, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you. Lynching is an Extrajudicial punishment meted out by a mob Lynching an enumerated Felony in some states in the United States, is defined by some You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U. S. Senate rather than hung from a tree. "^[15]

After extensive debate, the committee sent the nomination to the full Senate without a recommendation either way. Thomas was confirmed by the Senate with a 52-48 vote on October 15, 1991, the narrowest margin for approval in more than a century. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. ^[16] The final floor vote was not along strictly party lines: 41 Republicans and 11 Democrats voted to confirm while 46 Democrats and two Republicans (Jim Jeffords (R-VT) and Bob Packwood^[17] (R-OR)) voted to reject the nomination. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. James Merrill "Jim" Jeffords (born May 11, 1934) is a former U Vermont ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Robert William "Bob" Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is an American Politician from Oregon and a member of the Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

On October 23, 1991, Thomas took his seat as the 106th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.

Judicial philosophy

Clarence Thomas being sworn in by Byron White, as wife Virginia Lamp Thomas looks on. Byron Raymond White ( June 8, 1917 &ndash April 15, 2002) won fame both as a football Running back and as an associate justice of Virginia Lamp Thomas (born February 23, 1957) is the wife of United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and a consultant at the

Clarence Thomas is a conservative who acknowledges having some "libertarian leanings. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the "^[18] Thomas is often described as an originalist. Although he has been compared to Antonin Scalia, he is less devoted to precedent than Scalia, who told Thomas' biographer that Thomas "doesn't believe in stare decisis, period. (born March 11, 1936) is an American Jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States In Common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a Legal case establishing a principle or rule that a Court or other judicial Stare decisis is a common law doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions If a constitutional line of authority is wrong, he would say let's get it right. "^[19] In Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow and Cutter v. Wilkinson, Thomas argued that the Establishment Clause was not incorporated to states by the Fourteenth Amendment, directly challenging the precedent Everson v. Board of Education. Newdow v United States Congress Elk Grove Unified School District et al Cutter v Wilkinson, 544 US 709 ( 2005) is a case decided by the United States Supreme Court on May 31, 2005, which holds The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment refers to the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, stating that " The Fourteenth Amendment ( Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution is one of the post- Civil War Reconstruction Amendments, first Everson v Board of Education, 330 US 1 ( 1947) was the seminal United States Supreme Court case in Establishment Clause law in the He has advocated the reversal of Roe v. Wade, joining the dissenting opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and writing the concurrence in Gonzales v. Carhart. Roe v Wade, 410 US 113 (1973 is a controversial United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a Landmark decision regarding Planned Parenthood v Casey, 505 US 833 ( 1992) was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Constitutionality Gonzales v Carhart, 550 US ___ ( 2007) is a United States Supreme Court case which upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of Thomas voted with Scalia 91 percent of the time during the court's '06-'07 session. ^[20] He voted with Justice John Paul Stevens the least, only 36% of the time. John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is currently the most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ^[21]

Commerce Clause and states' rights

Thomas consistently supports a strict interpretation of the Constitution's interstate commerce clause and supports limits on the power of federal government in favor of states' rights. Article 1 Section 8 Clause 3 of the United States Constitution, known as the Commerce Clause, states that Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign States' rights refers to the idea in US politics and constitutional law, that U In both United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison Thomas wrote a separate concurring opinion arguing for the original meaning of the commerce clause and criticizing the substantial effects formula. United States v Lopez, was the first United States Supreme Court case since the Great Depression to set limits to Congress's power under the United States v Morrison, is a United States Supreme Court decision that examined the limits of Congress's power to make laws under the Commerce Clause He wrote a sharply worded dissent in Gonzales v. Raich, a decision that permitted federal government to arrest, prosecute, and imprison patients who were using medical marijuana. Gonzales v Raich (previously Ashcroft v Raich) 545 US 1 (2005 was a case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled on An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the investigation and prevention of crime The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of Medical cannabis refers to the use of the Cannabis plant as a physician-recommended Herbal therapy as well as synthetic THC and Cannabinoids However, he previously authored United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, an earlier case that also permitted the federal government to inspect medical marijuana dispensaries (the Oakland case dealt with the issue of medical necessity rather than federalism). In United States v Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 532 U Medical necessity is a United States Legal doctrine, related to activities which may be justified as reasonable necessary and/or appropriate based on evidence-based

Capital punishment

Like Scalia, Thomas takes a narrow view of the substantive limitations imposed by the Constitution on the use of capital punishment; he was among the dissenters in both Atkins v. Virginia and Roper v. Simmons, which held that the Constitution prohibited the application of the death penalty to certain classes of persons. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Atkins v Virginia,, is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 that executing the Mentally retarded violates the Eighth Roper v Simmons, was a decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that it is unconstitutional to impose Capital punishment for crimes Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. In Kansas v. Marsh, his opinion for the court indicated a belief that the Constitution affords states broad procedural latitude in imposing the death penalty provided they remain within the limits of Furman v. Georgia and Gregg v. Georgia, the 1976 case in which the court had reversed its 1972 ban on death sentences as long as states followed certain procedural guidelines. Kansas v Marsh, 548 US 163 (2006 is a case decided by the United States Supreme Court. Furman v Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty Gregg v Georgia, Proffitt v Florida, Jurek v Texas, Woodson v

Fourth Amendment

In the cases regarding the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, Thomas often favors police over defendants, although not always—he was in the majority in Kyllo v. United States and wrote separately in Indianapolis v. Edmond the opinion that the Constitution does not allow random stops of drivers. The Fourth Amendment' ( Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is a part of the Bill of Rights. Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many civil law and Common law legal systems whereby Police or other authorities and their agents who suspect Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force A defendant or defender ( Δ in Legal shorthand) is any party who is required to answer the Complaint of a Plaintiff Kyllo v United States,, held that the use of a Thermal imaging device from a public vantage point to monitor the radiation of heat from a person's home was a "search" City of Indianapolis v Edmond, 531 US 32 ( 2000) was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States limited the power of law enforcement His opinion for the court in Board of Education v. Earls upheld drug testing for students involved in extracurricular activities, and wrote again for the court in Samson v. California, permitting random searches on parolees. Board of Education v Earls, was a 2002 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled 5-4 that mandatory drug testing of students in extracurricular Samson v California, 547 US 843 ( 2006) was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the decision of the California Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system He dissented in the case Georgia v. Randolph, which prohibited warrantless searches that one resident approves and the other opposes, arguing that the case was controlled by the court's decision in Coolidge v. Georgia v Randolph, 547 US 103 ( 2006) is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that police without a Search warrant New Hampshire.

Free speech

Among Supreme Court Justices, Thomas is typically the second most likely to uphold free speech claims. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. ^[22] He has voted in favor of First Amendment claims in cases involving a wide variety of issues, including pornography, campaign contributions, political leafletting, religious speech, and commercial speech. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for election campaigns. On occasion, however, he disagrees with free speech claimants. For example, he dissented in Virginia v. Black, a case that struck down a Virginia statute that banned cross-burning, and authored ACLU v. Ashcroft, which referred the Child Online Protection Act back to District Court, where COPA was overturned. Virginia v Black et al, 538 US 343 ( 2003) was a First Amendment case decided in the Supreme Court of the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state Cross burning or cross lighting is a practice widely associated with the Ku Klux Klan as a reminder of faith American Civil Liberties Union v Ashcroft, 535 US 564 ( 2002) (also called Ashcroft v The Child Online Protection Act ( COPA) is a law in the United States of America, passed in 1998 with the declared purpose of restricting In addition, Thomas believes that students have limited free speech rights in public schools, a view he expressed in his concurrence in Morse v. Frederick. Morse v Frederick, 127 S Ct 2618 ( 2007) was a First Amendment student free speech case in which the Supreme Court of the In that case, he argued that the precedent of Tinker v. Des Moines should be overruled. Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School District, was a United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a decision defining the constitutional

Executive power

Thomas has a favorable view toward the power of the executive branch. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. He was the only justice that agreed with all arguments of the Bush administration in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. The Presidency of George W Bush began on his inauguration on January 20, 2001 as the 43rd and current President of the United States of America Hamdi v Rumsfeld, 542 US 507 ( 2004) was a US Supreme Court decision reversing the dismissal of a Habeas corpus petition He also dissented in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, which held that military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay "violate both the UCMJ and the four Geneva Conventions. Hamdan v Rumsfeld, 548 US 557 (2006 is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that military commissions set up by the Military commissions are among procedures planned by the US Bush administration to deal with Detainees it links to Al-Qaeda. The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp is a controversial United States Detention center operated by Joint Task Force Guantanamo since 2002 in Guantanamo The Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ,,) is the foundation of Military law in the United States. The Geneva Conventions consist of four Treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland, that set the standards for International law for humanitarian . . . "^[23]

Approach to oral arguments

Thomas is well-known for listening rather than asking questions during oral arguments of the Court. He has offered several reasons for this, the most strongly supported of which is that he developed a habit of listening as a young man. Thomas comes from the Gullah/Geechee cultural region of coastal Georgia and is a member of this distinct African American ethnic group; he grew up speaking the Gullah language, which is a hybrid of English and various West African languages. The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Low Country region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the The Gullah language (Sea Island Creole English Geechee is a Creole language spoken by the Gullah people (also called "Geechees" an African Later in life, Thomas began to acquire an enthusiasm for his heritage, writing about it in the December 14, 2000 issue of The New York Times:

"When I was 16, I was sitting as the only black kid in my class, and I had grown up speaking a kind of a dialect. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It's called Geechee. Some people call it Gullah now, and people praise it now. But they used to make fun of us back then. It's not standard English. When I transferred to an all-white school at a young age, I was self-conscious, like we all are. . . So I. . . just started developing the habit of listening. "^[24]

Thomas has stated that he wishes to write a book about the culture. ^[25]

Another theory, asserted by one set of Thomas biographers, is that he believes oral arguments are mostly unnecessary, and that the back-and-forth in oral arguments is often disrespectful to the attorneys trying to present their cases. (This view has been supported by Ann Scarlett, Professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law, who was one of his law clerks. Saint Louis University School of Law ' is one of the professional graduate schools of Saint Louis University. )^[26] The same biographers also theorize Thomas is uncomfortable in the rapid pacing of oral argument discussions, the supposition being he prefers a more cerebral, quieter environment in which to carefully contemplate matters of constitutional law. ^[27]

In comments in November 2007, Thomas proffered his position on the subject: "My colleagues should shut up!" he said to an audience at Hillsdale College in Michigan. November 2007 is the eleventh month of that year It began on a Thursday and 30 days later ended on a Friday Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan is a co-educational Liberal arts college known for its refusal of government funding and its monthly publication Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. He later explained, "I don't think that for judging, and for what we are doing, all those questions are necessary", and compared his profession to the medical arts: "Suppose you're undergoing something very serious like surgery and the doctors started a practice of conducting seminars while in the operating room, debating each other about certain procedures and whether or not this procedure is this way or that way. You really didn't go in there to have a debate about gall bladder surgery. The gallbladder (or cholecyst sometimes gall bladder is a small organ whose function in the body is to store Bile and aid in the digestive process " ^[28]

Though Thomas is silent during most arguments before the Supreme Court, he had, up until his 16th term, spoken a few times each term. ^[29] During the oral argument for NASA v. FLRA,^[30] In Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000), Thomas raised an issue which would become important in the opinions ("the distinction. Apprendi v New Jersey,, was a United States Supreme Court decision . . between an element of the offense and an enhancement factor"). In Capitol Square Review Board v. Pinette^[31] (1995), Virginia v. Black (2003), and Georgia v. Randolph (2006), Thomas presaged his eventual dissent with comments at oral argument. Virginia v Black et al, 538 US 343 ( 2003) was a First Amendment case decided in the Supreme Court of the United States. Georgia v Randolph, 547 US 103 ( 2006) is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that police without a Search warrant

Upon the conclusion of the 2006-2007 term of the Supreme Court, it was widely noted that Thomas had failed to utter a single word from the bench during the course of the entire term. ^[32] In November 2007, in a tongue-in-cheek manner, the Law Blog of the Wall Street Journal initiated the "When-Will-Justice-Thomas-Ask-a-Question Watch", noting that the justice had not asked a single question during oral arguments since February 22, 2006. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[33] February 22, 2008, marked the two year anniversary of Thomas' total silence on the bench, a milestone which was noted by several media outlets, including CNN. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Cable News Network, usually referred to by its Initialism CNN, is a major English language Television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner ^[34] Another reference to his silence was made in the Boston Legal episode The Court Supreme where Denny Crane made a bet regarding whether Alan Shore could get the fictional Justice Thomas to talk. Boston Legal is an American Legal drama - Comedy created by David E The following is a list of the episodes of the Television series Boston Legal. Dennis "Denny" Crane is a Fictional character on the Television series Boston Legal. Alan Shore is a Fictional character on the Television series Boston Legal, played by James Spader.

Bibliography

• Thomas, Clarence (2007). My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir, Harper, ISBN 0-06-056555-1. HarperCollins is a Publishing company owned by News Corporation.

References

Sources

• Brock, David (1994). David Brock (born November 2, 1962) is an American journalist and author and the founder of Media Matters for America. The Real Anita Hill, Touchstone, ISBN 0-02-904656-4
• Brooks, Roy L. Structures of Judicial Decision Making from Legal Formalism to Critical Theory
• Carp, Dylan (1998, September). Out of Scalia's Shadow. Liberty. Liberty is a leading Libertarian journal founded in 1987 by R
• Edward Shills and Max Rheinstien, Max Weber on Law in Economy and Society
• Foskett, Ken (2004). Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas, William Morrow, ISBN 0-06-052721-8
• Lazarus, Edward (2005, Jan. Edward Lazarus (born September 9, 1959) is a lawyer and writer who lives in the Los Angeles area 6). Will Clarence Thomas Be the Court's Next Chief Justice? FindLaw. FindLawcom is a free legal information Web portal owned by Thomson Reuters.
• Mayer, Jane, and Jill Abramson (1994). Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas, Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN 0-452-27499-0
• Onwuachi-Willig, Angela (2005). Just Another Brother on the SCT?: What Justice Clarence Thomas Teaches Us About the Influence of Racial Identity. Iowa Law Review, 90.
• Presser, Stephen B. (2005, Jan. -Feb. ) Touting Thomas: The Truth about America's Most Maligned Justice. Legal Affairs. Legal Affairs was an American magazine that was launched under the auspices of Yale Law School and which later became an independent non-profit venture with an educational
• Thomas, Andrew Peyton (2001). Clarence Thomas: A Biography, Encounter Books, ISBN 1-893554-36-8
• Supreme Court official biography (PDF format)
• Supreme Discomfort
• An Outline of the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas Controversy
• U.S. Supreme Court Multimedia
• Transcripts of Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the Nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court
• A Conversation with Justice Thomas
• "So, Guy Walks Up to the Bar, and Scalia says..."
• The Justice Thomas Appreciation Page

External links

• Clarence Thomas Speaks Out BusinessWeek
• Entry on Clarence Thomas by John P. Vanzo in The New Georgia Encyclopedia
• 23 June 2007 59th Birthday Commemoration Article "Clarence Thomas . . . My Friend" by Ellis Washington in WorldNetDaily.com
• 20 October 2007 Book Review of his memoir Article "Justice Clarence Thomas' "My Grandfather's Son" by Ellis Washington in WorldNetDaily.com
• 2007 City Journal article on Thomas
• 2007 interview in BusinessWeek
• October 11, 1991 evening session of U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
• Clarence Thomas at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention - November 2007
• Overview of Personal Memoir
• Biography of Clarence Thomas - Cornell Law School
• Washington Post article about Thomas
• Complete text, audio, video of Judge Thomas 'High Tech Lynching' statement to the Senate Judiciary Committeefrom AmericanRhetoric. com