Justice Thomas Says Nomination Was Like a ‘Near Death Experience’
Justice Clarence Thomas recalled the announcement of his appointment to the Supreme Court as being like a “near death experience” in a lecture at Southern Methodist University on Wednesday evening.
Thomas was questioned by former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, the SMU Daily Campus reports. Thomas said the announcement of his appointment by President Bush in 1991 was like a “near death experience where you’re watching something happen to you and you have no control over it.”
A hard-fought confirmation hearing followed in which Anita Hill claimed Thomas had sexually harassed her when working at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Thomas told the crowd he realized after visiting with wounded soldiers that the battles he fought in his own career paled in comparison to their contributions, according to the SMU Daily Campus.
“How do you say to these kids, or to World War II vets, that this is bad what happened to me when they have no arms or legs and are psychologically wounded for life?” Thomas said. “I think I should have a measure of shame if what I went through is ever even put on the same platform as what they went through. But, would do it again knowing what I know? Absolutely.”
Thomas also criticized press coverage of the Supreme Court, according to the Daily Campus account. “My problem is that I feel as though when I write an opinion, I have an obligation to get it right. It seems as though when we’re reported on, there’s no obligation to report it right.” When covering one of his early opinions, “the press thought I was in favor of beating prisoners,” Thomas said. “How could you come out with that stupidity?”
Justice Antonin Scalia has also criticized media reporting, saying stories on court opinions interpreting legislation often sound as if the Supreme Court is issuing a policy decision rather than parsing the text of statutes.
