U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Thomas Talks About Life & Work
Posted Apr 13, 2009, 01:37 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Justice Clarence Thomas hasn't asked a question on the U.S. Supreme Court bench since 2006.
But in an unusual question-and-answer session with essay-winning high school students recently, he opened up considerably, reports the New York Times in a column today by Adam Liptak. The event, which was held in Washington, D.C., was sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute.
To brighten his sometimes-dark mood, Thomas sometimes watches movies, Liptak writes. One of his favorites is Saving Private Ryan. Or he might surf the Internet; a favorite there is a speech by Douglas MacArthur at West Point about duty, honor and country.
“This job is easy for people who’ve never done it,” said Thomas later. “What I have found in this job is they know more about it than I do, especially if they have the title, law professor.”
Liptak's column today is a reprise of coverage early this month by the Legal Times, which had a somewhat different take on the event. As discussed in a previous ABAJournal.com post, the justice suggested that people would worry less about the economy if they lowered their expectations.
Updated at 7:10 p.m. to include link to earlier ABAJournal.com post.