Clarence Thomas Speaks: Gorsuch Is a 'Good Man'
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Justice Clarence Thomas gives a rare interview to his former law clerk Laura Ingraham on Fox News. Nov. 1, 2017.[/caption] In an extremely rare media interview Wednesday night, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas waved off suggestions that his new colleague Neil Gorsuch is “ruffling feathers” with other justices.“He is a good man. I have no idea what they are talking about,” Thomas said in response to a question from his former law clerk Laura Ingraham, taped for her Fox News debut.Ingraham was apparently referring to an article in Slate Magazine as well as NPR reporter Nina Totenberg’s comments on the podcast "First Mondays" and other articles suggesting that Gorsuch may be at odds with Justice Elena Kagan in particular or is annoying other justices with his manner at oral argument.“People have to say what they have to say,” Thomas said. “I don’t see all those things.” Nonetheless, Thomas went on to say that a new justice’s first months at the court can be difficult.“When you're new on the court, you're trying to find your way,” Thomas said. “It's a lot of work. It's a lot of personal adjustment. You are moving your family, you're getting through the effect of a confirmation. And it is an adjustment period. This is not the court of appeals.”Thomas has a long history of declining media interview requests, but he is also loyal to his law clerks. Ingraham clerked for Thomas in 1992 and 1993. Other topics he touched on:
African-American museum: Asked if he felt slighted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s late and limited recognition of Thomas as the court’s second black justice, Thomas said that “people who care about me” were unhappy. But he shrugged it off. He recalled the variety of books he was exposed to as a youth at a Carnegie Library in Savannah, Georgia. “You had this range of ideas. And [now] they are getting quite comfortable in our society, limiting ideas and exposure to ideas, and maybe that's a symptom of it. I don't know. But I don't think it's good for the next generation and the people who will be learning.”
Missing Scalia: Ingraham asked what the court is like without Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016. He said, “I think the most charitable thing to say is that it’s different. My colleagues would agree there is a sort of a big emptiness to it. He had a way of filling up the room with his personality, his quips, his intellect, his humor. … So for me, personally, it's very different. I have excellent colleagues. Justice Alito is just a fabulous person. Justice Gorsuch is just outstanding. And of course my friends who've been there for a while are just good people. It’s worked out very well. … It’s a good place to work. It’s not a sour place, not a dour place.”
Judicial philosophy: Asked to describe his judicial philosophy, Thomas said “To get it right. I think we are required to reason to a conclusion, and that's what we try to do, and to do it in a way that is accessible to regular people. … [In sports,] you want a particular outcome. You want to win the game. If the referees make a call consistent with the outcome you prefer, then you say the referee did a great job. Because the referee has somehow benefited and made possible the outcome you want. I think we have to be careful not to take outcomes that we want and backwash that into the process of decision-making.”
