Justice Thomas’ lusterless tenure began with a lie. It keeps getting worse.

The Columbus Dispatch

Justice Thomas’ lusterless tenure began with a lie. It keeps getting worse. |Opinion

Michael M. Lederman – July 19, 2022

Abortion-rights protesters demonstrate near the home of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in Fairfax Station, Va. on June 24, 2022, after the Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortions.
Abortion-rights protesters demonstrate near the home of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in Fairfax Station, Va. on June 24, 2022, after the Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortions.

Dr. Michael M. Lederman is professor of medicine (emeritus) and biomedical ethics at Case Western Reserve University. He is editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Pathogens and Immunity.

Clarence Thomas should not be on the Supreme Court.

He was approved to sit on the court by a timid Democrat majority Senate that was afraid to conclude that this Black man had sexually harassed a colleague, Anita Hill.

More: Petition calls for impeachment of Chatham’s Clarence Thomas. Can you impeach a Supreme Court justice?

The truth of the matter is undetermined but to my eye and in the eyes of many, Professor Anita Hill (and two other women) were telling us the truth and Judge Thomas was lying.

Clarence Thomas, then a Supreme Court nominee, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his 1991 confirmation hearing.
Clarence Thomas, then a Supreme Court nominee, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his 1991 confirmation hearing.

A terrible start for a Supreme Court justice and it did not get any better. His tenure on the Supreme Court has been lusterless. For many years, he would not even write an opinion and his writings have been largely pedestrian or extremist.

Law professor Anita Hill testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol hill Oct. 11, 1991. In a 1994 book titled " Strange Justice, The selling of Clarence Thomas," written by two Wall Street Journal reporters, the authors revealed that Thomas' volatile Supreme Court confirmation hearings raise fresh questions about his denial that he had talked dirty to Hill while she worked for him as an aide at two government agencies in the 1980s.
Law professor Anita Hill testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol hill Oct. 11, 1991. In a 1994 book titled ” Strange Justice, The selling of Clarence Thomas,” written by two Wall Street Journal reporters, the authors revealed that Thomas’ volatile Supreme Court confirmation hearings raise fresh questions about his denial that he had talked dirty to Hill while she worked for him as an aide at two government agencies in the 1980s.

His wife – Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, a refugee from an 80’s cult –  is a danger to America who has placed Justice Thomas proximate to sedition. Ginni Thomas has worked relentlessly to undermine the outcome of the 2020 presidential election using lies and misrepresentations to urge electors to resist the legitimate transition of government.

More: Clarence Thomas’ wife asks Anita Hill for apology

This is an embarrassment to the court.

But even worse is Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself from deliberations that address this very election.

Most recently, Thomas delivered the majority opinion in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, finding that the right to carry concealed handguns in public for the purpose of self-defense is protected by the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

Michael M. Lederman, M.D., is professor of medicine (emeritus) and biomedical ethics at Case Western Reserve University. He is editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Pathogens and Immunity.
Michael M. Lederman, M.D., is professor of medicine (emeritus) and biomedical ethics at Case Western Reserve University. He is editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Pathogens and Immunity.

More: How to submit guest opinion columns to the Columbus Dispatch

Justice Thomas (and other conservative justices) deliberately misunderstand the Second Amendment. None of the other nine amendments to the Constitution that comprise the Bill of Rights requires justification; those are self-evident and fundamental.

The Second Amendment alone has an explanatory introduction: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state,” the Amendment begins, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

Nowhere in the Amendment is self-defense mentioned.

More: Supreme Court justices don’t have a code of ethics. Hundreds of judges say that’s a problem

If the framers of Bill of Rights understood that that the right to keep and bear arms was fundamental, why was this unique introduction even warranted?

In the 2008 Heller decision, the unique importance of this introduction is simply ignored as nearly accidental and a labyrinth of decisions is used to link the Amendment to the use of arms in activities such as self-defense. When applied to the original words of the  framers, this is sophistry.

Thomas is marinated in conflicts of interest that render impartiality risible. He has been a headliner for the Eagle Forum (an anti-abortion organization) and the conservative Council for National Policy.

He gave a keynote speech at a fundraiser for the conservative Manhattan Institute and has a longstanding relationship with the Heritage Foundation.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, left and his wife Virginia Thomas, right, on Feb. 20, 2016. Virginia Thomas sent weeks of text messages imploring White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to act to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to copies of the messages obtained by The Washington Post and CBS News.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, left and his wife Virginia Thomas, right, on Feb. 20, 2016. Virginia Thomas sent weeks of text messages imploring White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to act to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to copies of the messages obtained by The Washington Post and CBS News.

His wife has prominent roles in a number of conservative activist organizations and she was actively engaged in promoting the Jan. 6, 2021, Ellipse rally that ultimately resulted in the violent assault on the Capitol. Mrs. Thomas has given at least $13,000 to support Republicans seeking elected office.

More: What ties does Ginni Thomas, the Supreme Court justice’s wife, have to Jan. 6?

Apparently, Thomas’ colleagues have been unable or unwilling to get Thomas to recuse himself when conflicted.

His service on the court offers a compelling argument for term limits, if not impeachment.

Dr. Michael M. Lederman is professor of medicine (emeritus) and biomedical ethics at Case Western Reserve University. He is editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Pathogens and Immunity.

Author: John Hanno

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Bogan High School. Worked in Alaska after the earthquake. Joined U.S. Army at 17. Sergeant, B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 84th Artillery, 7th Army. Member of 12 different unions, including 4 different locals of the I.B.E.W. Worked for fortune 50, 100 and 200 companies as an industrial electrician, electrical/electronic technician.