Clarence Thomas: One of the Justices Essay

The case Montgomery v. Louisiana made its way to the Supreme Court after a long process of appeals beginning in Louisiana State District Court. Montgomery had committed a murder in 1963 when he was 17 years old and was later sentenced to life in prison with no opportunity for parole. In recent years, a case (Miller v. Alabama) was decided that declared that mandatory life sentences with no chance of parole are illegal in cases where the criminal is a juvenile. The Miller case cites the 8th Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Montgomery has since sought to challenge his sentence, citing that his sentence would now be considered illegal, and that the precedence set by the Miller case should be enforced retroactively. Montgomery’s

Before the Marshall Court, the United States Supreme Court functioned much like the courts in England in which more than one judge offered his decision on the case at hand. Shortly after becoming Chief Justice, Marshall changed this English tradition so that only one opinion was delivered by one of the justices, most often the Chief Justice (Rehnquist 40). By changing this tradition John Marshall set the U.S. Supreme Court apart from the English Courts at the time and began to define our unique judicial system.

Thurgood Marshall was a great African American Civil Rights activist who changed a lot of lives in the United States. As a passionate lawyer and prominent Supreme Court justice he fought for Civil Rights and social justice in the courts and believed that racial integration is best for all schools. Very early in his professional life Marshall broke down racial barriers and overcame resistance despite the odds. He then became a role model of the disciplined leader, although he didn’t have the religious qualities or charisma as Martin Luther King. However, in terms of achievements, most of us would agree that he should be ranked next to Martin Luther King Jr. Thurgood was particularly famous for winning the Brown vs. Board of

On February 26, 2012, an apparently innocent teenager was shot as he walked home through his neighborhood late at night. The Trayvon Martin killing and trial has recently been one of the primary topics covered by the media in America. The response to the news coverage of the case has been staggering. Students have organized hoodie marches and created Facebook groups to protest the unjustified murder of the young man. However, is the American public as well informed as it pretends to be? Americans have an unsettling susceptibility to manipulation from the media. In 1991, a similar event occurred in the case of the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, where Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, had his personal affairs put on display for

Clarence Thomas is just the second African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court. His confirmation margin of fifty-two to forty-eight is the smallest margin in history. Until the very recent confirmations of both Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, for the past twenty-five plus years, Thomas had been the last conservative to be named to the current court. Thomas’ confirmation hearings have gone down in history as those containing the most drama. His hearings would produce such intense arguments over race and gender. Thomas is on of the most publicly criticized justices in the history of the Supreme Court. The primary reason for that is the "uncommon" connection between his views and the color of

"Thurgood Marshall was a rebel."(1) His method of activism differed from those of other civil rights leaders of the time. By addressing the courts and using his legal expertise, Marshall was able to have a more direct influence on society and the way government was treating blacks at the time. His use of the of the courts led to rulings that deemed the exclusion of blacks from primary elections, the use of racial profiling in terms of housing, the "separate but equal" mentality concerning working facilities and universities, and especially the segregation of elementary schools unconstitutional. With a resume like that it is no wonder he is still considered one of the most influential of the civil rights

The current Supreme Court membership is comprised of nine Supreme Court Justices. One of which is the Chief Justice and the other eight are the Associate Justices. The Justices are Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., and Associate Justices: John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

Judge Clarence Thomas desire to keep the laws the unchanged in Judicial Restraint can also be seen in his deciding votes in his past cases. In addition, to asking minimal questions Judge Thomas is stern in his reason to keep laws consistent. For example in the Supreme Court case Good News Club v. Milford Central School, Judge Thomas ruled in favor of the club and that the school district violated the First Amendment rights of free speech and gathering, even though it was religious. This shows his devotion to the constitution and his desire to not stray away from it. As a matter of fact, in his conservative vote of the case Gonzales v. Raich, Judge Thomas argued that when no direct connection could be made to commerce, congressional regulation

The main purpose of Thomas writing this book was to show his personal struggles, both internal and external, that shaped him into the Supreme Court justice that we see today. Clarence Thomas had a difficult childhood, having been abandoned by his father then subsequently given up to his grandparents by his mother, who was unable to raise him and his brother Myers. His grandfather, who he called "Daddy", was able to give the boys more material comfort than they had ever known while under the care of their mother, but also demanded much more out of them. Instead of being able to skip class and go on escapades around town, as they had been able to do in Pinpoint under the care of their mother, Daddy made sure that Clarence and Myers would be at school every day, sick or healthy. Thomas wrote, " [H]e warned us that if we died, he 'd take our bodies to school for three days to make sure we weren 't faking, and we figured he meant it" (Page 15). On top of making sure that the boys would get a proper, consistent education, Daddy made Clarence and Myers ride along with him while he delivered fuel oil during the winter to hi customers. The second year that they had been living under the rule of their grandparents, Daddy had bought a brand-new GMC truck, then took the heater out of it, saying that there was no sense in keeping the cab warm if they were going to get out every stop (Page 21). Clarence 's grandfather was extremely hard on the him. In turn, Clarence held himself to higher

Clarence Thomas was born June 23rd, 1948 in Pin Point, Georgia. Clarence became the second African-American justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court. His appointment was one of the most controversial in history. Thomas was sworn in to the Supreme Court on October 23rd, 1991 by Congress. The retirement of Thurgood Marshall led former president George H.W. Bush to nominate a new justice (Bio, 2016).

It is easy to confuse plagiarism with paraphrasing and sometimes that confusion can lead to controversy. There has recently been a debate over the originality of some Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s majority opinions. Some are a accusing him of copying text from case briefings, and many are wondering if this is the result of lazy writing or innocent coincidence.

Thomas: Yes, I was assigned that case, and the part of the “decision” that I think still affect people of color today, is the statement. Blacks had no rights by which white men is being to respect… the fruits of those words can be seen today. For example, in my former junior high school three Black males students was suspended wearing the same color and style of shirt to school, however, more than three white males were wore the same design in their t-shirts, same color and type of tennis shoes and blue jeans, their appearances, the spirit of the Dread Scott case continues to show us we have no areas of our own to live by which white men was defined as “the latest

The first Supreme Court in 1789 consisted of five justices. Congress added a sixth seat in 1790 and a seventh in 1807 to ease the strain on justices as the number of circuit courts increased. Congress added the eighth and ninth seats in 1837. Membership stayed at nine until 1863, when Congress added a tenth seat, only to abolish it when a justice died in 1865. In 1867, Congress reduced the seats to seven to limit the opportunity of President Jackson to appoint new members. Congress restored the number of seats to nine in 1869, and in 1891 abolished the Supreme Court justices’ circuit-riding burden. The number of justices has remained fixed at nine, for over 100 years, making tie votes unlikely unless circumstances prevent a justice from participating in deliberations. There is currently one Chief Justice and eight associate justices in the Supreme Court although Congress does have the authority to change the number of justices sitting on the Supreme Court (Van Dervort, 2000, p. 69).

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the land, with jurisdiction over all cases involving federal law. The Supreme Court is composed of 9 justices who serve with lifetime tenure, only being replaced upon death or resignation. Justices are nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. While this may sound simple enough, the nomination of a new Supreme Court Justice can be a very tense time between the President and the Senate.

The Supreme Court of the United State is normally formed by the Chief Justice and eight associate justices. They are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. After the appointment, the justices will have life tenure until they resign, retire, take senior status, or are removed after impeachment. Since they are nominated by the President, they may share the same ideological view with the President. The political view of the justices may have some influence on their judgement.