Clarence Thomas

The Honorable Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Thomas has consistently adhered to an interpretation of the U.S. Constitution based on original intent, which has included opposing Roe v. Wade, homosexual rights, federal interference with state sovereignty, the Dormant Commerce Clause and constitutional limits on punitive damages. He has utilized and trained more conservative law clerks than any other Justice. He has an unblemished record of service on the Court since 1991 and has never had to recuse himself from a case due to activity off the bench. Justice Antonin Scalia rarely disagrees with Justice Thomas, but one example of disagreement was when Justice Thomas provided the fifth vote against the government in a seizure of nearly a million dollars in cash from a traveler who had failed to fill out a disclosure form.

Early life

He was born in Savannah, Georgia on June 23, 1948.

Appointment to the United States Supreme Court

In 1991, upon the death of Justice Thurgood Marshall, President George H.W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to fill the newly vacant seat. Supporters of abortion opposed his nomination. Liberal attempts to block his confirmation through allegations about offensive statements to one woman, then a law professor, were unsuccessful. However, the unproven allegations did persuade Democratic Senator Robert Byrd, a former Ku Klux Klan member, to change his vote from "yes" for confirmation to "no".

Thomas was confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 52-48, which was at the time the narrowest confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee in history.