WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The first baby boomer on hit a milestone on Thursday, becoming the second-longest serving justice in history at a time when his influence has never seemed greater.
on the nation鈥檚 highest court, Justice Clarence Thomas has become a towering figure in the conservative legal movement over the last decade as he helped secure landmark rulings on abortion, voting and Second Amendment rights.
The only justice with a longer tenure is liberal . Thomas would overtake Douglas in 2028 if he remains on the court 鈥� and there鈥檚 no sign he plans to retire anytime soon.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 more energized and excited now than when I first met him,鈥� said John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who served in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration after his time as a Thomas clerk three decades ago.
Thomas was confirmed in 1991 after that included sexual harassment allegations. More recently, has raised a storm of ethics questions. He’s nevertheless gone from to asking the first questions and penning a landmark ruling .
Following the appointment of three conservative justices by Republican President Donald Trump, Thomas is now the most senior member of a supermajority that’s also , and .
鈥淭he court has radically moved in his direction over the course of his time on the court,鈥� said Stanford University law professor Pamela Karlan. Thomas’ seniority means he can decide who writes an opinion if he’s part of a majority that doesn’t include Chief Justice John Roberts, a factor that can nudge other votes behind closed doors, Karlan said.
Off the bench, Thomas’ sphere of influence also includes his large, close-knit , who have served in the Trump administration and are increasingly filling out the ranks of federal judges.
鈥淭hat is an important legacy that he will leave,鈥� said Sarah Konsky, director of the Supreme Court and Appellate Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. 鈥淓ven as justices’ own time on the court winds down, significant influence lives on through their clerks.鈥�
That鈥檚 not to say Thomas鈥� time on the court is up. In a recent speech, Thomas tied the nation鈥檚 highest ideals to a conservative vision of limited government 鈥� and launched a broadside on progressivism seen by critics as unfair and inappropriate. In the room at the University of Texas, though, it earned a standing ovation.
Thomas, who became the second Black member of the court, now has a tenure that tops 34 years, putting him ahead of Justice Stephen J. Field, who was appointed by Lincoln before the end of the Civil War and served as the only 10th justice until 1897.
For Thomas, 77, it鈥檚 from the hearings at which his nomination by Republican President George H.W. Bush was nearly derailed by allegations that he had sexually harassed , a charge he forcefully denied.
Thomas has more recently come under scrutiny for lavish, undisclosed trips from a GOP megadonor and the conservative , who backed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. The justice has said he wasn鈥檛 required to disclose the trips he took with friends and ignored calls to recuse himself from cases related to the election.
On the court, though, recent years have also brought perhaps the most significant work of his career, especially that found people generally have the right to carry a gun in public. The justice did not respond to a request for comment on his tenure.
His own jurisprudence has changed little over the years, said Scott Gerber, author of 鈥淔irst Principles: The Jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas.” Even as the majority moves his way, he鈥檚 continued to write dissents that get noticed.
鈥淗e鈥檚 incredibly consistent,鈥� Gerber said. Once known for solo dissents, 鈥渘ow he writes majority opinions.鈥�
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