Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomasis an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Thomas succeeded Thurgood Marshall and is the second African American to serve on the court...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSupreme Court Justice
Date of Birth23 June 1948
CityPin Point, GA
CountryUnited States of America
american-judge harm protect role state strongly undo
The state can't undo the harm that was done, but I feel very strongly that if there is any role for the state, it is to protect us from others.
cases critics job people respond statements
My job is to write opinions. I decide cases and write opinions. It is not to respond to idiocy and critics who make statements that are unfounded. That doesn't mean that people shouldn't have constructive criticisms, but it should be constructive.
affirm appears hold name parole placed program structured time
We hold that the program , as it appears to have been structured at the time (Harper) was placed on it, differed from parole in name only, ... and affirm the (appeals court's) decision.
There is some misunderstanding. We do not look any place. We do not recruit. We are passive. We look at what comes to us.
capacity detention expertise falls federal lack war within
This detention falls squarely within the federal government's war powers, and we lack the expertise and capacity to second-guess that decision.
certainly change consider manner risk runs
It runs the risk of undermining the manner in which we consider the cases. Certainly it will change our proceedings. And I don't think for the better.
gone ninth taught victims
When I went into the seminary, I was one of those victims of New Math and had not had Algebra I and had no idea what we were doing in New Math in the ninth grade. But when I went into the seminary, they had gone the traditional route and taught first-year algebra.
people
There are so many people who have this idea of who I am because I'm black.
I went into the seminary when I was 16.
affected people self-esteem
I hear people say it affected your self-esteem to be segregated. It never affected mine.
cease people
It would seem that some black people want to say that when you, as a black, become successful, you cease to be black. That's ridiculous.
If I were a black liberal, I would be hailed, I guess. But I'm not. I mean, I think for myself. I want to make my own decisions.
decided sometime work
My grandfather, as I said, was industrious. He'd had a variety of jobs and decided sometime in the 1940s that he would never work for anyone. He was also a very independent man.
believe god grew religious thank
I grew up in a religious environment, and I'm proud of it. I was going to be a priest; I'm proud of it. And I thank God I believe in God, or I would probably be enormously angry right now.