Clarence Thomas

Justice Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991. He is considered to be part of the "conservative wing" in the current court. He is the second African-American to serve on the nation's highest court (Justice Thurgood Marshall was the first) and, until the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts in 2005, was the youngest justice.

Appointment

In 1991, upon the retirement of Thurgood Marshall, President George H. W. Bush nominated Thomas to replace him. This was widely considered a move in the conservative direction for the court. Marshall was the only black justice on the court, so the selection of Thomas as his successor preserved the existing racial mix of the court.

Related Topics:
1991 - Thurgood Marshall - George H. W. Bush

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Organizations including the NAACP, the Urban League, and the National Organization for Women opposed his appointment to the Supreme Court because of his criticism of affirmative action and suspected anti-abortion position.

Related Topics:
NAACP - Urban League - National Organization for Women - Abortion

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Some of the public statements of Thomas' opponents foreshadowed the confirmation fight that would occur. One such statement came from noted feminist Florence Kennedy at a July 1991 conference of the National Organization for Women in New York City. Making reference to Robert Bork and the successful campaign against his Supreme Court nomination in 1987, she said of Thomas, "We're going to bork him." http://opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=85000412

Related Topics:
Florence Kennedy - July - 1991 - New York City - Robert Bork - 1987

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The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Thomas about his political opinions and constitutional interpretation over several days. Toward the expected end of the confirmation hearings, Democratic staffers for the committee leaked to Nina Totenberg (a reporter with National Public Radio) the contents of an FBI report which reported that a former colleague of Thomas, University of Oklahoma law school professor Anita Hill, had accused him of sexually harassing her when the two had worked together at the DOE and EEOC. However, seemingly contradictory statements by Anita Hill and additional testimony for Thomas by former female associates weakened the case against him. In the end, the Committee did not find sufficient evidence to corroborate Anita Hill's claim. Hill's supporters later insisted that relevant testimony from Angela Wright, a PR director for the EEOC and a witness to the alleged offensive conduct, was suppressed, even though the Democrats controlled the Senate. (Democrats were reluctant to call Angela Wright as a witness after Thomas testified that he had fired her for calling another employee a 'faggot.')

Related Topics:
Senate Judiciary Committee - Constitution - Nina Totenberg - National Public Radio - University of Oklahoma - Anita Hill - Angela Wright

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Of the Committee's investigation of the Hill claims, Thomas said:

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...as far as I'm concerned, 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. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the US Senate rather than hung from a tree. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new-yitna?id=UsaThom&images=images/modeng&data=/lv6/workspace/yitna&tag=public&part=24

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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, making it the closest confirmation vote for a Justice in the 1900s. The vote was not strictly by party line; he received "yea" votes from 41 Republicans and 11 Democrats and "nay" votes from 46 Democrats and 2 Republicans.

Related Topics:
October 15 - 1991 - 1900s

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Thomas took his seat on October 23, 1991. In 2004, reports began to circulate that Thomas would replace William Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the United States upon Rehnquist's retirement. In 2005, however, Rehnquist died in office and John Roberts was confirmed to replace him.

Related Topics:
October 23 - 1991 - 2004 - William Rehnquist - Chief Justice of the United States - 2005 - John Roberts

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