Thomas' opinions are set in stone.
I wrote on Saturday that the lavish gifts enjoyed by Justice Thomas look corrupt. Supreme Court justices should avoid the appearance of bribery and undue influence by people with an interest in the Court's decisions. It is a sacrifice for them, but it is the price they should pay in exchange for the great power the country has given them. If you want the job of "impartial judge" then wear a robe, not the jersey of one of the contestants.
Conde Cox shares a perspective. He writes that Justice Thomas's judicial decisions are fixed and beyond influence by Crow or anyone else. Cox has been a member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar since 1995 and has attended dozens of oral arguments in person. For many years he has been rated a Thomson-Reuters "Super Lawyer" in the field of business bankruptcy. He carries out his nationally-recognized practice from Ashland, Oregon.
 |
| Cox |
Guest Post by Conde Cox
My view, having sat several times in the ”bar members section” in the USSC courtroom while Justice Thomas sat on the dais in front of me and above me, is that he is a very principled person and that he does not care whether his actions or statements will be viewed by others as creating an appearance of impropriety. I suppose the attitude he exudes has developed over many years of sitting on the bench with life tenure, with many of those years spent laboring in the former conservative minority of the Court. He is no dummy. He is highly literate and laser-focused on what he believes to be right. He is just very opinionated and wears a lifetime appointment badge to justify it.
His acceptance of ‘gratuities’ and favors from his conservative friends does not appear to me to be a matter of bribery or a ‘quid pro quo.’ Such an improper exchange would be unnecessary with Justice Thomas, because he is completely committed to the entirety, without compromise, of the right wing agendas developed and supported by people like Harlan Crow and the Koch brothers. I would guess that he and they would simply view his trips on Crow’s jet and visits to the Bohemian Grove to be something any friend would do with his other like-minded friends.
In short, having observed Justice Thomas up close and personal for over 20 years from the courtroom, and having read all of his written opinions issued as a Justice, since 1991, (and all of the other Justices’ opinions as well, issued since about 1980), I have gained respect for Justice Thomas’s intellect and his never-give-up principled nature. He has been in single-minded pursuit of a hard-core right wing agenda. I disagree with him on almost every political issue that you might care to name.
I say this even though his politics are downright offensive to a political progressive like me.
I will also note that Justice Thomas, for many years, while he was in the former conservative minority on the Supreme Court, almost never said a single word or asked a single question during oral arguments in any of the cases pending before the Court. By contrast, in very recent years, as the conservatives have now obtained a majority of the Court members, thanks to the combined efforts of the Bushes and Trump, Justice Thomas actually speaks up. He asks hard questions of counsel during virtually every oral argument for every case.
 |
| Painting at Harlan Crow's Adirondacks resort |
Most rich guys (like Harlan Crow) find it hugely satisfying to spend time and share their luxury with like-minded people who wield great power. This wasn't an attempt to change a judicial decision. It wasn't necessary and it wasn't possible. Thomas is beyond being influenced.
[Note: To get daily delivery of this blog to your emai go to: https://petersage.substack.com. Subscribe. Don't pay. The blog is free and always will be.]
9 comments:
Perhaps he doesn’t see this as a quid pro quo, but no matter how intelligent and literate we may be, our world views are shaped by shared experiences with the company we keep. The poor and marginalized will never have access to him, nor does he need to inconvenience himself to learn of their reality through shared experience. He may have high IQ, but low EQ.
Regardless of whether Justice Thomas’ opinions are his own or those of the people he accepts “gifts” from, the Supreme Court justices aren’t following the code of ethics expected of their own staff or judges on lower courts. That must be the basis of their decision that Trump is above the law, because it sure as hell isn’t in the Constitution. The rules don't apply to them, so why should they to their cult leader?
Complaining about Justice Clarence Thomas probably makes some people feel good while they are doing it, but it’s a political zero. No significant amount of votes will be affected by this, regardless of how much noise people make about it.
Justice Thomas is too corrupt to be bribed. That's the bottom line.
When is Biden going to activate Seal Team 6?
So one is not allowed to be friends with like-minded people? We need to have friends who pass someone else's litmus test?
I have progressive, liberal, conservative and other types of friends. Some I talk to learn why they believe what they believe, others we don't even engage with political talk.
Some friends are travel friends, others are food friends, and still others are active/activity friends.
Some I am closer to than others.
And then there are people with very few friends because they won't associate with people who have a different set of beliefs.
That's why there are loners as well as popular people, and everything in between.
Judgement is the highest manifestation of human critical thinking. Adherence to dogma is definitely not critical thinking. A man whose thinking process is completely confined to a narrow range of parameters is not qualified to be a judge, especially not of the highest court of the land. Clarence Thomas is a sad example of a mistreated youth and difficult early life experiences which have warped his perception of reality in a deeply disturbing way. Somehow, perfect consistency of critical thought belies a lack of appreciation for the immense complexity and nuance necessary to be a fair judge.
I have no doubt that Clarence Thomas thinks the expensive motor home and $500,000 vacations on very large yachts are only what he considers his due, so can't be considered bribes. And he probably even believes that the gravy train will continue if he leaves the Court because Harlan Crow really likes him. He may even believe he's so far above the laws us mortals must adhere to that he's never going to suffer any consequences for his corruption .Because if something looks like a duck, walks and quacks like a duck, there is a very real probability that it is actually a duck.
There seems to be a bit of a disconnect. The concern here isn’t about the number of votes affected, but about the ethics of the Supreme Court. Nor does it matter who Clarence Thomas is friends with. What matters is all the undeclared largesse bestowed upon him.
Post a Comment